NGC 6960: The Witch’s Broom Nebula by Rod Pommier
Submitted by Chelsea Chin
NGC 6960: The Witch’s Broom Nebula, in Cygnus
NGC 6960, the Witch’s Broom (also Western Veil or Sharpless 103) Nebula is a remnant from a supernova about 10,000 years ago. Its amazing filamentary structure is due to compression of expanding shells of gas as they meet the resistance of the interstellar medium. That much of what we see as “empty” space is filled with dark dust is evidenced by there being more background stars visible below the nebula, where it has swept space clear of dust, than above it. The bright star, 52 Cygni, is a type K star and a foreground object with no physical association with the nebula but adds to the drama of the image. Please compare this image to my previous image of it taken with my Celestron Compustar C14, shown under Nebulae. The difference in sharpness, clarity, and detail is jaw-dropping.
Telescope & Mount: PlaneWave CDK17 on an L-500 mount
Exposures: Ha:L:R:G:B = 300:245:95:95:95 minutes = 11 hours, 40 minutes total exposure at f/6.8.
Rod Pommier – Pommier Observatory | Portland, Oregon USA