Snowy mountains reflected in a calm lake with icy shore.

Wooden pier with boats on a turquoise lake

A white swan with a yellow beak dips its head.

Man in orange coat overlooking arid, mountainous landscape

People shop at a market built along train tracks.

A small bird with a red cap in the snow.

Train passes by buildings on elevated tracks.

Waterfall cascading down mossy rocks in a lush forest.

Starry night sky reflected in a calm lake

A carved pumpkin with a spooky face on wooden planks.

Canal and historic buildings with bridge in amsterdam.

Misty forest landscape with silhouetted trees.

A man with a buzz cut wearing a tank top.

Silhouette of person against illuminated american flag

A lone skier descends a vast, snow-covered mountain slope.

Silhouette of a person casting a long shadow

Red neon sign over water at night

Modern building facade with vertical ribbed pattern

Three people wearing sunglasses stand outdoors.

Red racing car with white stripes and shell logo.

Close-up of a camel's head with a red rope.

Abstract white graffiti tags on a dark background.

Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. This sharp telescopic view is centered on a western segment of the Veil Nebula cataloged as NGC 6960 but less formally known as the Witch's Broom Nebula. Blasted out in the cataclysmic explosion, an interstellar shock wave plows through space sweeping up and exciting interstellar material. Imaged with narrow band filters, the glowing filaments are like long ripples in a sheet seen almost edge on, remarkably well separated into atomic hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue-green) gas. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1400 light-years away towards the constellation Cygnus. This Witch's Broom actually spans about 35 light-years. The bright star in the frame is 52 Cygni, visible with the unaided eye from a dark location but unrelated to the ancient supernova remnant.