This processed Hubble view of the Veil Nebula shows fine details of its structure.
ESA / Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay
The Hubble Space Telescope revealed the cosmos in great detail three decades of service. The telescope’s view of the Veil Nebula – a remnant of a supernova – has acquired an appearance that reveals previously unseen details of the structure.
The veil is 2,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. It was the subject of a 2015 release of the Hubble statue, but highlights the new look that the European Space Agency (ESA) described as ‘the nebula’s fine wires and filaments of ionized gas’ in a statement this week.
The changes between the two image versions initially seem subtle, but the joy is in the details. “The new post-processing methods have enhanced the details of the emissions of double-ionized oxygen (seen here in blues), ionized hydrogen and ionized nitrogen (here in red),” ESA said.
ESA and NASA jointly operate Hubble. NASA also shared the new look for the Veil on Friday.
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The Hubble statue shows only part of an intriguing space that was once home to a large star that died in a huge explosion. The nebula is a tribute to the aftermath.
Go to ESA’s Hubble website to download the original full-size version and lose yourself in the splendor of this knockout mist.
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