tagged with: star galaxies, deep space astronomy, starry space picture, cyglpneb, ultraviolet radiation, supernova explosion remnant, cygnus loop nebula, star gazing pictures, outer space, space photography, star forming galaxy, dust filaments, cygnus constellation closeup
Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, this brightly ultraviolet image of the Cygnus Loop nebula lies about 1,500 light-years away. It extends over three times the size of the full moon in the night sky and is tucked in beside one of the swan's wings in the constellation of Cygnus.
The nebula is a supernova remnant from about 7000 years ago and its shockwave is so energetic that it's driving the filaments of gas and dust into the ultraviolet, The original supernova would have been bright enough to be seen clearly from Earth with the unaided eye and is still today spreading outward from the original explosion.
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image code: bsgsst
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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