Skywatchers Unveil Stunning Photo of Supernova’s Shattered Remains

Approximately 1500 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, the wispy clouds of heated and ionized dust make up what is known as the Veil of Witch’s Broom Nebula. (Image credit: Bob and Janice Fera)

Remnants of an exploded supernova appear as ghostly wisps in this skywatching photo of the Veil Nebula.

Avid astrophotographers Bob and Janice Fera took this spectacular photo on September 2011 from Mike Sherick's Sagrada Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Some 1500 light-years away from Earth, the wispy clouds of heated and ionized dust make up what is known as the Veil of Witch’s Broom Nebula. The source star of the nebula exploded more than 5,000 years ago. The nebula lies in the constellation Cygnus.

The Veil Nebula spreads about three degrees in diameter or an area roughly six times wide as that of the full moon. Its rope-like remnants of gas and dust resemble a light woman’s veil in the sky. The colors in the nebula are from the the presence of oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen.

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Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.