NGC 6979 – Pickering’s Triangle

Pickering’s Triangle is part of a much larger formation. It's the central part of a large complex called the Veil Nebula.

The Veil Nebula (also called the Cygnus Loop) is the remains of a star that annihilated itself in a supernova explosion some 8,000 years ago. It’s located roughly 2,100 light years away in the Cygnus constellation.

Williamina Paton Fleming, working as one of unpaid volunteer women known as the “Harvard Computers” discovered Pickering’s Triangle in 1904. Unfortunately, it was named after the director of the Harvard College Observatory, E.C. Pickering.

Fleming was an extraordinary contributor to the science of astronomy over her career. She developed a system for classifying stars based on hydrogen spectra, discovered the Horsehead Nebula, and was the first to identify a white dwarf star.

See below for more images and information related to the Veil.