A Radio Vista of Cygnus
Shells of ancient
supernovas, cocoons surrounding
newborn stars, and specks from
distant quasars highlight this
tremendous vista toward the constellation of
Cygnus.
The representative color image covers about 10 degrees
across on the sky but is only a small part of the
Canadian Galactic Plane Survey in
radio light.
Diffuse bands of
ionized gas flow though a dominating region of
star formation, located about 6000
light-years away.
Two prominent
supernova shells visible include the brown globule on the lower left and the white bumpy sphere on the upper right.
To the left of the brown globule is the entire
North America Nebula.
Prominent stellar cocoons
are visible throughout the image as bright white knots.
Some of these stars will likely generate future
supernova shells.
Far in the distance, visible here as only red dots,
quasars glow.