A loose group of stars scattered across a 10 to 15 arcmin wide region.

Per Dreyer, NGC 6951 (= Swift list II (#85), 1860 RA 20 35 16, NPD 24 23.0) is "pretty bright, pretty large, a little extended". The identity of the two entries has been recognized for more than a century. A note in the first Index Catalog indicates that (per Denning) NGC 6951 and 6952 are the same, and the second Index Catalog adds "6951: Place correct, 6952 to be struck out." As a result, although Coggia made the original discovery, NGC 6951 is the catalog entry used for the galaxy. Swift's position precesses to RA 20 37 02.0, Dec +66 06 28, about 12 seconds of time west of the nucleus, but well within the outline of the galaxy, so the identification is certain. Based on a recessional velocity of 1425 km/sec, NGC 6951 is about 65 million light years away, in good agreement with redshift-independent distance estimates of 60 to 80 million light years. Given that and its 3.9 by 3.2 arcmin apparent size, the galaxy is about 75 thousand light years across. The bright core classifies NGC 6951 as a Seyfert galaxy (type Sy2).

Per Dreyer, NGC 6952 (= Coggia, 1860 RA 20 35 53, NPD 24 03.1) is "pretty bright, oval, diffuse, 15th-magnitude star close following". Coggia's position precesses to RA 20 37 34.6, Dec +66 26 27, which is 20 arcmin north of the correct position, whereas Swift's position was reasonably accurate; so a double listing was inevitable. But as noted at NGC 6951, the equivalence of the two entries has been known for more than a century, the similarity of the two descriptions and the 15th-magnitude star just to the east of the nebula having led Denning to report it (as noted in the first IC), and Dreyer to state that NGC 6952 should be struck out (in the second IC).

The second IC states "17s preceding (to the west of) the place is a very small group of 4 stars but no nebula (Howe). Bigourdan's place agrees with this." About 1.5 arcmin wide?

1.0 by 0.6 arcmin

1.4 by 1.3 arcmin

1.9 by 1.9 arcmin

0.5 by 0.4 arcmin

2.5 by 1.9 arcmin

The second IC lists a corrected RA (per Bigourdan) of 20 39 58. About 0.6 by 0.3 arcmin apparent size.

Per Dreyer, NGC 6960 (= John Herschel's GC 4600, 1860 RA 20 39 53, NPD 59 47.2) is "very remarkable, pretty bright, considerably large, extremely irregular figure, κ Cygni involved". The position precesses to RA 20 45 39.8, Dec +30 43 18, dead center on 52 Cygni, which is the star actually "involved" with the nebula, so the identification is certain (Dreyer's reference to κ Cygni is wrong, as that star is on the opposite side of the constellation; so he must have meant 52 Cyg). The Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop, is an old supernova remnant near the end of the southeastern wing of Cygnus, the Swan. Estimates of its age range from 5000 to more than 15000 years, with the greater age being more generally agreed upon. It occupies a region just over 3 degrees across, and although about 7th magnitude overall, its light is so spread out that it cannot be observed in detail without filters which block out all light save for that emitted by specific atoms (mostly doubly ionized oxygen or OIII atoms and neutral hydrogen or HI atoms). However, its brighter portions are easily observed even with small telescopes in dark skies, and several parts of the nebula have catalog listings (among them NGC 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, and 6995, and IC 1340), and fanciful names. NGC 6960 is called the Western Veil due to its position on the western side of the complex, but its appearance also leads to the designations Lace-Work Nebula, and Witch's Broom Nebula. The Cygnus Loop is 1500 to 1800 light years away, so the supernova remnant (SNR) is about 100 light years across. For young SNRs, the radiation of the nebula is due to absorption of radiation emitted by the stellar remnant at their core. For older remnants such as the Veil, the radiation is caused by shock-wave heating, as the expanding gas in the remnant collides with gas in interstellar space at about 400 thousand miles per hour. (Note: As fast as this seems, it is only a fraction of the original expansion rate, which must have exceeded a thousand miles per second.) This collision compresses knots of gas and dust that the expanding gas runs into, and it is not unusual to find clusters of hot, bright young stars scattered along the edges of such remnants. However, the 4th-magnitude star (52 Cygni) near NGC 6960 is not associated with the nebula at all, but merely a foreground object.

0.6 by 0.5 arcmin

2.9 by 2.2 arcmin

1.7 by 1.3 arcmin

0.6 by 0.4 arcmin

0.9 by 0.6 arcmin

1.5 by 1.1 arcmin

1.1 by 0.3 arcmin

1.0 by 0.6 arcmin

1.1 by 0.9 arcmin

1.1 by 0.5 arcmin

NGC 6974 and 6979 represent two knots in one of the brighter fragments of the Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop. For a physical description of the Veil Nebula and images of the entire complex, see NGC 6960; only a historical discussion of NGC 6974 and an image of NGC 6974 and 6979 are given at this entry. Note: Pickering's Triangle is so frequently misidentified as NGC 6974 or 6979 that searching for information about those objects often turns up the Triangle, instead. For that reason, although not an NGC object, it is discussed immediately following NGC 6979.

Per Dreyer, NGC 6975 (= Bigourdan (list II#88), 1860 RA 20 44 57, NPD 96 23) is "very faint, small, possibly = m427", the last comment meaning perhaps the same as NGC 6976. The position precesses to RA 20 52 22.2, Dec -05 51 36, about 6 arcmin southwest of the modern position, and nearly 7 arcmin away from Marth's position for NGC 6976, so it wasn't unreasonable for Dreyer to create two separate listings; but by the time of the second Index Catalog his suspicion had turned into certainty, and he stated that NGC 6975 and 6976 were definitely the same. Given Marth's prior and more accurate observation, NGC 6976 should be used to identify the galaxy; but as it happens, there is an additional reason to do so. Namely, a number of references incorrectly list PGC 65612, which lies well to the west, as NGC 6975 (for instance, the Wikisky search engine); so save for historical interest, NGC 6975 should be struck out entirely.

Often incorrectly listed as NGC 6975, particularly in reference to Hickson Compact Group 88 (and therefore incorrectly shown in Wikisky as that galaxy). However, it has been known for over a century that NGC 6975 is the same as NGC 6976, and is therefore not the galaxy in question. Based on a recessional velocity of 6040 km/sec, PGC 65612 is about 280 million light years away. Given that and its 0.7 by 0.3 arcmin apparent size, it is about 55 thousand light years across.

Per Dreyer, NGC 6976 (= Marth 427, 1860 RA 20 45 01, NPD 96 17) is "extremely faint, irregularly round". The position precesses to RA 20 52 25.9, Dec -05 45 35, about 0.7 arcmin north of the galaxy's nucleus, but close enough to be certain of the identification (see NGC 6975 for a discussion of the double listing). (Physical data to be added later; 0.8 by 0.7 arcmin)

1.3 by 0.9 arcmin

1.5 by 0.7 arcmin

NGC 6979 and 6974 represent two knots in one of the brighter fragments of the Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop. For a physical description of the Veil Nebula and images of the entire complex, see NGC 6960; only a historical discussion of NGC 6979 and an image of NGC 6974 and 6979 are given at this entry. Note: Pickering's Triangle is so frequently misidentified as NGC 6974 or 6979 that searching for information about those objects often turns up the Triangle, instead. For that reason, although not an NGC object, it is discussed immediately below.

Pickering's Triangle is a portion of the Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop. For a physical description of the Veil Nebula and images of the entire complex, see NGC 6960; only a historical discussion of the Triangle is given at this entry. Pickering's Triangle could have been given an entry in Dreyer's second Index Catalog, as it is mentioned in a note at the end: "6992 is connected with 6960 by faint nebulosity forming an irregular oval; a large triangular wisp extends southward from the northwest part of this oval. Pickering, ApJ xxiii, p. 261". As noted by Dreyer, Pickering was the author of the paper which mentioned the Triangle; but Fleming was the actual discoverer. Traditionally, credit for such discoveries was given to the author; but in recent years more interest has centered on the actual discoverer, and that (and the fact that Fleming was a woman) has led to a gradually increasing use of the term Fleming's Triangle, instead. Unfortunately, neither Pickering's Triangle or Fleming's Triangle is the usual way that this portion of the Veil is referred to; instead, it is usually incorrectly identified as NGC 6974 or (more commonly) 6979. As shown below and at their entries, those terms actually refer to knots in a considerably smaller portion of the Nebula, just to the east of the Triangle.

Approximately 100 thousand stars fill a 90 light-year wide region, 50 thousand light years away (about 6.6 arcmin wide?)

1.0 by 0.7 arcmin

0.8 by 0.6 arcmin

1.8 by 1.2 arcmin

1.5 by 0.8 arcmin

0.5 by 0.3 arcmin

The second IC lists a corrected RA (per Bigourdan and Howe) of 20 28 34 (the abbreviation used for the second observer is H, which traditionally stood for William Herschel,; but since Herschel was long dead, he could not be responsible for the correction, and H must have been a misprint of Ho, meaning Howe). The apparent size is about 1.0 by 0.6 arcmin.

1.4 by 1.2 arcmin

0.5 by 0.5 arcmin

(about 10 arcmin wide?) (a part of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula)

1.2 by 0.5 arcmin

Per Dreyer, NGC 6991 (= William Herschel's list VIII#76, John Herschel's #2091, John Herschel's GC 4615, 1860 RA 20 49 52, NPD 43 15.4) is a "cluster, large, poor, very little compressed". The position precesses to RA 20 54 35.6, Dec +47 16 32, a few arcmin southwest of the object presumably observed by John Herschel; but his description supposedly makes it clear which cluster he observed. Unfortunately, that was not the same cluster observed by his father William, but John did not realize that, and gave the two observations a single entry in his General Catalog; and since the NGC was an updating and expansion of the GC, Dreyer did the same. As a result, there is considerable confusion and controversy about which of the two (or three) clusters in the region should be called NGC 6991. However, given the fact that John would have used his own observations to establish the position of the cluster, it seems obvious (to me) that his cluster should be the one listed as NGC 6991, and his father's should be listed as "NGC 6991A", or some similar variation. (Steinicke lists both Herschels' positions for NGC 6991, and Corwin discusses three possibilities, though he has doubts about one of them; so a full discussion of the problems associated with this entry will have to wait for the next iteration of this page.)

As noted at NGC 6991, there is considerable confusion about how to deal with the original observations associated with NGC 6991; but the gory details will have to wait for the next iteration of this page. (There seems to be some debate about which open cluster is William Herschel's VIII#76; so the position above and image below may be altered once I have a chance to review all the arguments.)

NGC 6992 represents the northern portion of the Eastern Veil, the brightest region on the eastern side of the Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop. For a physical description of the Veil Nebula and images of the entire complex, see NGC 6960; only a historical discussion and images of the various parts of the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992, 6995, and IC 1340) are given at this entry.

1.2 by 1.0 arcmin

(1.4 arcmin across??)

NGC 6995 represents the middle portion of the Eastern Veil, the brightest region on the eastern side of the Veil Nebula, or Cygnus Loop. For a physical description of the Veil Nebula and images of the entire complex, see NGC 6960; only a historical discussion and images of the various parts of the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992, 6995, and IC 1340) are given at this entry.

(5 arcmin across?)

(8 arcmin across?)

Per Dreyer, NGC 6998 (= Marth 431, 1860 RA 20 53 16, NPD 118 34) is "most extremely faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 21 01 38.3, Dec -28 01 17, about 0.6 arcmin north of the center of the galaxy, but close enough for the identification to be certain. Based on a recessional velocity of 11890 km/sec, a straightforward calculation would indicate that NGC 6998 is about 510 million light years away; but for objects at such a distance, it is necessary to take into account the expansion of the Universe during the the time it took its light to reach us. Doing so indicates that as for NGC 6999, the galaxy was about 490 million light years away at the time the light by which we see itwas emitted, about 500 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during that time). Given that and its apparent size of 0.7 by 0.7 arcmin, the galaxy is about 100 thousand light years across. The NED indicates that NGC 6998 is a member of a group of galaxies, of which NGC 6999 is the brightest member. Although, given their huge distance, whether the two galaxies are as close as their apparent positions cannot be determined, they are certainly part of a gravitationally bound group.

Per Dreyer, NGC 6999 (= Marth 432, 1860 RA 20 53 38, NPD 118 36) is "most extremely faint, very small". The position precesses to RA 21 02 00.3, Dec -28 03 14, about 0.4 arcmin northeast of the center of the galaxy, but within its halo; so the identification is certain. Based on a recessional velocity of 11000 km/sec, a straightforward calculation would indicate that NGC 6999 is about 510 million light years away; but for objects at such a distance, it is necessary to take into account the expansion of the Universe during the the time it took its light to reach us. Doing so indicates that the galaxy was about 490 million light years away at the time the light by which we see itwas emitted, about 500 million years ago (the difference between the two numbers being due to the expansion of the intervening space during that time). Given that and its apparent size of 0.9 by 0.7 arcmin, the galaxy is about 130 thousand light years across. NGC 6999 is listed in NED as the brightest member of a group of galaxies (which would therefore usually be referred to as the NGC 6999 Group). NGC 6998 is also a member of that group, but whether the two galaxies are as close as their apparent positions cannot be determined, given their huge distance from us.