Anyone looking into the night sky long ago when an event generated the seeds of this photograph might have noticed a sudden light as bright as a crescent Moon, astronomers say. The light would have come from an exploded star called a supernova.

Remnants of that explosion are seen here.

The Veil Nebula, as the leftovers are collectively called, sits about 2,500 light-years away (varying distances are given) against the backdrop of our galaxy's central region -- the dense swath of stars we call the Milky Way. It is made of wisps of gas flung out in the explosion, which is thought to have occurred as much as 20,000 years ago, Earth-time.

The material, mostly gas, gets excited and shines when it slams into other stuff in the interstellar medium.

The picture, showing just parts of the nebula, was taken earlier this month by amateur astrophotographers Jeff Stuffings and his son Mike, with the help of a professional astronomer at a nightly observing program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. The program teaches amateurs about the art and science of astronomy and astrophotography. [About the Kitt Peak Program]

-- Robert Roy Britt