¿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2020 August 26 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Cygnus Skyscape Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Alistair Symon Explanation: [5]In brush strokes of interstellar dust and glowing [6]hydrogen gas, this beautiful skyscape is painted across the plane of our [7]Milky Way Galaxy near the northern end of [8]the Great Rift and the constellation [9]Cygnus the Swan. Composed using 22 different images and over 180 hours of image data, the widefield mosaic spans an impressive 24 degrees across the sky. Alpha star of Cygnus, bright, hot, supergiant [10]Deneb lies near top center. Crowded with stars and luminous gas clouds Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring [11]Northern Coal Sack Nebula, extending from Deneb toward the center of the view. The reddish glow of star forming regions NGC 7000 and IC 5070, the [12]North America Nebula and Pelican Nebulas, are just left of Deneb. The [13]Veil Nebula is a [14]standout below and left of center. A [15]supernova remnant, the Veil is some 1,400 [16]light years away, but many other nebulae and star clusters are [17]identifiable throughout the cosmic scene. Of course, [18]Deneb itself is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in two [19]asterisms -- marking the top of the [20]Northern Cross and a vertex of the [21]Summer Triangle. Follow APOD on: [22]Instagram, [23]Facebook, [24]Reddit, or [25]Twitter Tomorrow's picture: peculiar galaxies __________________________________________________________________ [26]< | [27]Archive | [28]Submissions | [29]Index | [30]Search | [31]Calendar | [32]RSS | [33]Education | [34]About APOD | [35]Discuss | [36]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [37]Robert Nemiroff ([38]MTU) & [39]Jerry Bonnell ([40]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [41]Specific rights apply. [42]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2008/CygnusVeil_Symon_2000.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. http://www.woodlandsobservatory.com/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cole#/media/ File:Cole_Thomas_The_Oxbow_(The_Connecticut_River_near_Northampton_1836).jpg 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051223.html 7. https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/07/22/how-many-stars-in-the-milky-way/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161110.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_%28constellation%29 10. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/deneb.html 11. https://astronomy.com/magazine/stephen-omeara/2012/04/where-is-the-northern-coalsack 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190728.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191031.html 14. https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/16956/r1.jpg 15. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/supernova_remnants.html 16. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/ 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170322.html 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deneb 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_%28astronomy%29 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031023.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150627.html 22. https://www.instagram.com/astronomypicturesdaily/ 23. https://www.facebook.com/AstronomyPictureOfTheDay 24. https://www.reddit.com/r/apod 25. https://twitter.com/apod/ 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200825.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 35. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200826 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200827.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 39. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 40. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 42. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 46. http://www.mtu.edu/