AAPOD2 Image Archives
LBN 331 Silk Veil Nebula
This glowing ribbon of hydrogen gas is LBN 331, a faint emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The brilliant star near the center is 32 Cygni, a wide binary system made up of a hot B-type star and a cooler K-type supergiant. The system lies between 1,100 and 1,174 light years away and is silhouetted dramatically against the glowing strands of ionized gas.
The bright arcs are part of a vast network of nebulosity in the Cygnus region, shaped by stellar winds and radiation from massive stars. Hydrogen-alpha emission gives the nebula its vivid red color. This field is a small section of the expansive Cygnus Loop, an area filled with remnants of ancient supernovae and glowing filaments. The contrast between the sharp starlight of 32 Cygni and the delicate arcs of interstellar gas highlights the richness of the Milky Way’s summer sky.
