Astr111 Photography Projects, Fall 2009

Network Nebula , Eric D. Kamstra

This is a picture of NGC 6995, or more commonly called the Network Nebula. The Network Nebula is the eastern portion of a larger nebula called the Veil Nebula.This network is actually expanding debris of a supernova explosion that occured over 10,000 years ago. In the background and adding to the beauty of the nebula is the constellation of Cygnus which is all within the Milky Way Galaxy.

This picture shows the colorful red (Hydrogen) and green (Oxygen) wisps of gas that are lingering from the supernova explosion. These hydrogen and oxygen gases are the sources for water, precipitation, as well as the basis for oxygen in our galaxy (ie. for basis for our Earth). As the gas interacts (compresses) it becomes excited and the gasses glow, which displaying different colors or filaments. There are also distinguishable differences in colors amongst the stars, you can see white, blue, and even pink stars, which alludes to how hot each of these stars are. The Network Nebula is approximately 1,800 light-years away from Earth.With an angular size of almost 4 degrees, the Network Nebula is considerable large and has a linear size of approximately 26,000AU. The pictured portion of the Network Nebula (NGC 6995) has an angular size of 2 degrees and has a linear size of approximately 13,000AU.

References:
Soloman, Jim. "NGC 6992." SaratogaSkies. <http://www.saratogaskies.com/image.pl?i=55>.

"NGC 6992-The Network Nebula." Enchanted Skies, Celestial Wonders from New Mexico. <http://enchantedskies.net/NetworkHyper.html>.

"NGC 6995". Encyclopedia Brittanica. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413504/NGC-6995>.