The Veil Nebula is a supernova remnant of a nearby star that’s thought to have exploded around 8000 years ago. As the fast moving shock wave slams into a wall of cooler gas, it produces light. These faint wisps of gas continue to expand outward and cover an area as wide as 6 full moons in the nighttime sky.
This tenuous gas cloud is located about 2000 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan.