                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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

                               Cygnus Skyscape
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Alistair Symon

   Explanation: In brush strokes of interstellar dust and glowing hydrogen
   gas, this beautiful skyscape is painted across the plane of our Milky
   Way Galaxy near the northern end of the Great Rift and the
   constellation 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 Deneb lies near top center. Crowded with stars and luminous
   gas clouds Cygnus is also home to the dark, obscuring 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 North
   America Nebula and Pelican Nebulas, are just left of Deneb. The Veil
   Nebula is a standout below and left of center. A supernova remnant, the
   Veil is some 1,400 light years away, but many other nebulae and star
   clusters are identifiable throughout the cosmic scene. Of course, Deneb
   itself is also known to northern hemisphere skygazers for its place in
   two asterisms -- marking the top of the Northern Cross and a vertex of
   the Summer Triangle.

           Follow APOD on: Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, or Twitter
                    Tomorrow's picture: peculiar galaxies
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.
