Western Veil Nebula

A star 1500 light-years from earth exploded about 8,000 years ago. The explosion created a shock wave which has been traveling outward at 200,000 mi/hr. This is one section of the shock wave as it passes by an unrelated star (52 Cygni). This section of the nebula is 26 light-years long and 2.3 light-years across. Its apparent size in the sky is three times larger than the full moon.