Veil nebula in Cygnus

[tayga]

Old EU hands might have already seen this but I was prompted to look for images of the Veil nebula by an excellent plate in Anthony Peratt's book. It's a stunning illustration of Birkland current filaments spiraling round each other. The overwhelming filamentary nature of this object makes me wonder what gravity-based model can even attempt to explain its appearance.

http://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/hd ... c0712g.mp4

[nick c]

That is a beautiful sight!


[url2=http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2005/ ... usloop.htm]The Cygnus Loop[/url2]

The aurora-like curtains and filaments seen here have more in common with electric currents in plasma than with mechanical models based on acoustic shocks. A Birkeland current can separate elements because the atoms of each element ionize at an energy level unique to that particular element. The strength of the currents vary where they twist and compress along their length. The result is concentrations of different elements in regions where the ionization potential matches the strength of the Birkeland current. The top photo illustrates this principle. It is color-coded to show regions of the nebula where different elements predominate. Blue is ionized oxygen, red is ionized sulfur and green is ionized hydrogen.

Nick

[tayga]

Thanks, Nick. Where's the quote from ?

[nick c]

hi tayga,

Where's the quote from ?

The quote is from the TPOD, the [url2=http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2005/ ... usloop.htm]Cygnus Loop[/url2]. Click on the blue "Cygnus Loop" and the link will take you there.
The Veil Nebula is a part of the Cygnus Loop.

Nick