<p>Looking at the image, it appeared to be a supernova remnant, and sure enough when I plugged the coordinates into <a href="http://avastronomyclub.org/skymap/d/skymap.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SkyMap</a>, it identified NGC 6960, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_Nebula" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Veil Nebula</a>.  The interaction of the hot ionized gas of the expanding supernova remnant with the interstellar medium produces radiation at many wavelengths.</p>
<p>The Veil Nebula is almost 3 degrees across, while the soft-X-ray camera on <a href="https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/technical-details-epic" rel="nofollow noreferrer">XMM-Newton</a> has a FOV of 30 arc-minutes, so it takes 7 overlapping fields to span the width of the remnant.  Note that the remnant shows X-ray emission across its entire width, while in visible wavelengths only the brighter parts of the edges can be imaged.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-15T21:26:40.020Z
I wonder if this can be expanded a bit? The angular sizes of the object and the telescope could explain the unusual tiled appearance for example.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-15T13:57:16.040Z
2021-09-15T23:48:15.753Z
2021-09-15T23:48:15.753Z
antlersoft
<p>I've been exploring <a href="https://sky.esa.int" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this new ESA tool</a> and I came across <a href="https://sky.esa.int/?target=312.5762005535865%2030.181310946756824&amp;hips=XMM-Newton+EPIC+color&amp;fov=22.1093409295035&amp;cooframe=J2000&amp;sci=false&amp;lang=en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this structure</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/N8pKk.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/N8pKk.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>What is it?</p>
<p>The circles look like they might be the footprint of a telescope. Perhaps there was a survey of this specific region of the sky with long exposures? Why was this part of the sky in particular observed with such detail? What exactly are we looking at here? What object(s) of interest lie here that justify observing in soft X-ray this small part of the sky in more detail than what surrounds it?</p>

<identify-this-object><x-ray>
What is in this soft x-ray image?
usernumber
# What is in this soft x-ray image?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-09-15)

I've been exploring [this new ESA tool](https://sky.esa.int) and I came across [this structure](https://sky.esa.int/?target=312.5762005535865%2030.181310946756824&hips=XMM-Newton+EPIC+color&fov=22.1093409295035&cooframe=J2000&sci=false&lang=en).

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/N8pKk.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/N8pKk.png)

What is it?

The circles look like they might be the footprint of a telescope. Perhaps there was a survey of this specific region of the sky with long exposures? Why was this part of the sky in particular observed with such detail? What exactly are we looking at here? What object(s) of interest lie here that justify observing in soft X-ray this small part of the sky in more detail than what surrounds it?

**Tags:** identify-this-object, x-ray

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-09-15. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Looking at the image, it appeared to be a supernova remnant, and sure enough when I plugged the coordinates into [SkyMap](http://avastronomyclub.org/skymap/d/skymap.php), it identified NGC 6960, the [Veil Nebula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_Nebula). The interaction of the hot ionized gas of the expanding supernova remnant with the interstellar medium produces radiation at many wavelengths.

The Veil Nebula is almost 3 degrees across, while the soft-X-ray camera on [XMM-Newton](https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/technical-details-epic) has a FOV of 30 arc-minutes, so it takes 7 overlapping fields to span the width of the remnant. Note that the remnant shows X-ray emission across its entire width, while in visible wavelengths only the brighter parts of the edges can be imaged.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I wonder if this can be expanded a bit? The angular sizes of the object and the telescope could explain the unusual tiled appearance for example.  

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