Telescope Reviews: Binocular Icon 24 : The Veil Nebula in Cygnus.

The Veil Nebula in Cygnus can be a tricky object to observe, especially without an OIII filter.
This supernova remnant is a delicate complex of faint light that encompasses a 3° field. Starting point for this observation is Epsilon Cygni. From there, go 3° south to find 52 Cygni. A small pair of binoculars can show both Epsilon and 52 Cygni in the same field of view.
Now try to move both stars near the western border of the field in order to see the brightest part of the Veil (NGC 6992-6992) in the middle of the eyepieces. I had to use averted vision and a lot of patience to reveal that part of the nebula. The other section, NGC 6960, behind 52 Cygni was not visible at all. I believe that the bright 52 Cygni outshines the weak glow of that part of the Veil. I did have the impression that Simeis 229 or Pickering’s Triangular Wisp could be noted as a tenuous brightening of the sky. Or is it maybe the combined light of an unresolved group of stars at that spot? Detecting the Veil Complex is an interesting exercise, which I should repeat later on the year under darker skies. I do strongly recommend the use of a mount to go after the Veil Nebula. The steady view will allow your eyes to study the star field in greater detail.

Site : Bütgenbach, Belgium
Date : July 1, 2008
Time : around 23.15 UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3,5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : around 5.8
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Photo Paint, based on a raw pencil sketch.

(Note: if the sketch does look too dark on your monitor, try to darken the room.)

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Rony

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