Hello! Astronomy Picture of the Day - November 25th, 2019
Today's video is about NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula
Do you see the bat?
It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula
The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star
While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), the Bat Nebula, NGC 6995, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon
That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth
In the composite of image data recorded through broad and narrow band filters, emission from hydrogen atoms in the remnant is shown in red with strong emission from oxygen and nitrogen atoms shown in hues of blue
Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch's Broom Nebula
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