Twisty gasses for the masses. A cool pic taken just a few days ago.

Shot during a 3/4 moon, so contrast was improved with a filter. Despite this, the moon has raised the black level of the image somewhat.

his is a zoomed in detail of a larger feature called the Veil Nebula, an impressive remnant of a star's explosion. The supernova is young, only 15,000 years old, and is 2400 light years away in our own Milky Way galaxy.

The entire nebula is 110 light years across, though this image only shows a tiny part, maybe 20 light years across.

"Tiny" being relative. For example, our own solar system is only .00127 light years wide. It would barely show up even in this closeup!

I like this detail because it shows the intricate nature of the intertwining gasses. Red and orange are hydrogen and sulfur. Bluegreen is oxygen. I love the way the vapors are twisted like a rope. The nebula is made up of very thin sheets of gas. So thin that we can't see them except when viewed on edge. It's those folds that give the appearance of stringy fibers. So you can see why such a gossamer display would lead to the name "Veil Nebula."

Even after several millennia, the gasses show this interesting pattern. But nothing is forever; as it continues to expand outward, the nebula will become more diffuse and eventually disappear from view.

c'est la vie.

The Veil Nebula is, in a fashion, unique. Its position is a little above the denser spiral plane of our galaxy, so it sticks out without any other distractions. The background is simply the emptiness of deep space.

Unless you can find that galaxy in the distance, almost a billion light years way.

The nearly full supermoon is out tonight, meaning that two or three times a year the moon is full and closer to the earth than usual in its orbit. It's not your imagination if it seems bigger and brighter. After my eyes adjust, it almost seems like daylight out. It's no time to get the telescope out (unless the moon itself is the target), so it's just nice to take in the cool temps and fabulous view of the sky.

I processed tonight's image to the tune 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘵 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, by jazz pianist Beege Adair.