Cygnus Veil (Veil Nebula or Cygnus Loop) is an expanding supernova remnant, 1,400 to 2,400 light-years distant, and spanning 110 to 120 light-years across. It is the glowing, filamentary remains of a star roughly 20 times the mass of our Sun that exploded 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

For nomenclature, it is divided into three sections:

Western Veil (Witch’s Broom Nebula / NGC 6960), a long, ragged ribbon of light near the star 52 Cygni;

Eastern Veil (NGC 6992 / NGC 6995), a bright, sweeping arc on the right side of the complex; and,

Pickering’s Triangle (NGC 6979), a faint, triangular swath of gas bridging the gap between the Eastern and Western Veils.