Science Source Stock Photo - Pickering's Triangle in Cygnus Loop

Pickering's Triangle in Cygnus Loop

Description: Wide-field image of Pickering's Triangle taken with the National Science Foundation's Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Pickering's Triangle is part of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant, which includes the famous Veil Nebula. It is located about 1,500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Astronomers estimate that the supernova explosion that produced the nebula occurred between 5,000 to 10,000 years ago; the entire shell stretches more than six full Moons in width across the sky. This new image was obtained in September 2007 by Travis Rector and Heidi Schweiker by combining two full pointings of the 64-megapixel NOAO Mosaic-1 imager mounted on the National Science Foundation's historic Mayall 4-meter telescope. This segment of relatively faint nebulosity was discovered photographically in 1904 by Williamina Fleming at Harvard Observatory, where Edward Charles Pickering was director at the time. The Triangle is brightest along the northern side of the loop, though photographs show the nebulosity extending into the central area as well.

Credit:

T. Rector/UAA/H. Schweiker/WIYN/NOAO/AURA/NSF/Science Source

Unique identifier: SS2712686

Legacy Identifier: JC6825

Type: Image

Size: 5250px × 2695px (~40 MB)

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