The Veil Nebula (NGC 6994, 6995, 6960) - Sketch

Sketch of the eastern and the western Veil nebula

Object details: size: 1.2° ;  magnitude: 7m ;  distance: 2kly ;  cosntellation: Cygnus
Eastern Veil: NGC 6994, NGC 6995- supernova remnant.
Western Veil: NGC 6960 - supernova remnant.

Location and conditions: Negev desert , Israel.
Time and date: Western: 20/06/2009 - 04:00.    Eastern: 10/09/2009 - 23:30.
Instrument: Orion 8" F/5 Newtonian. 25mm Sirius plossl (40X). UHC filter.
Drawing details: Graphite pencil sketch on a white paper, made while observing with a telescope under red light. Processed in Photoshop. Observation by Michael Vlasov.

Notes:

This is an older sketch made through an 8" Telescope. See here a more detailed fragment made with a 12" Newtonian and an NPB filter.

Veil Nebula is a spectacular supernova remnant in the Cygnus right wing. It is located 2000 light years from us and spans on an area of almost 3 degrees of arc (6 moon sizes). The Veil is composed from two arc-shaped bright nebulae, with some fainter filaments in between.

The "Eastern Veil" (NGC 6994, NGC 6995) is bright, long, arc-shaped nebula, with clearly defined edges. It was easily spotted with UHC filter and had a complex, fine structure with lot's of dark and bright filaments. It's northern part looks like washed out "fox tail" , which slowly fades away and isn't clearly defined. The southern part brakes the "arc" shape to a side.

The "Western Veil" (NGC 6960) is located right behind a bright 4.2 magnitude star (52 Cyg). Southern part of it is faint, fuzzy and washed out (also like a "fox tail"). Northern part is bright, thin, and has clearly defined edges. It has a smooth shape, which bends from side to side, and is pointy at north. In the middle there is a darker line, which flows along the nebulocity.

In my 12x60mm binoculars - I could also spot both arcs of the Veil (not without an effort though). I could also observe the nebula through my 8" telescope under moderate 5.5-6.0 magnitude sub-orb skies, using UHC filter and slightly higher magnification (not as nearly as spectacular though, as in the sketch above).

Additional versions:

Sketch of the western Veil nebula

Sketch of the eastern Veil nebula