NGC 6960 is the western portion of the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant in Cygnus. NGC 6960 appears to lie close to the bright star 52 Cygni, the brightest star in the frame at top center. 52 Cygni, however, is just a foreground star at a distance of 206 light-years that happened to be aligned by coincidence along the same line of sight.

Popular names for NGC 6960 are the Witch's Broom Nebula, the Filamentary Nebula and the Lace-Work Nebula.

The Veil Nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. It is located 1,400 to 2,500 light-years away.

NGC 6960 was discovered by William Herschel in 1784.

North is to the left in the above image.

NGC 6960 Catalogs: NGC 6960, LBN 191 Common Names: Witch's Broom Filamentary Nebula Lace-Work Nebula Object Type: Supernova Remnant Size: 90' x 30' Constellation: Cygnus Image Field Centered At: RA: 20h 46m 24s Dec: +30° 38' 49"