Stunning Photo of Cosmic 'Cygnus Wall' Captured by Amateur Astronomer

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Cygnus Wall by Bill Snyder
Veteran astrophotographer Bill Snyder captured this image of the Cygnus Wall, which is the most active region of star formation in the North America Nebula. Snyder took this photo over more than 18 hours of exposure in 2013 from Heavens Mirror Observatory in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. He used a Planewave 17” telescope equipped with an Apogee U16 camera, as well as a Paramount ME mount and Astrodon Ha5nm, OIII3nm, SII5nm filters, to capture the image. (Image credit: Bill Snyder )

A veteran astrophotographer captured this beautiful photo of the massive hot bed of star formation astronomers call the Cygnus Wall.

Photographer Bill Snyder created this image from more than 18 hours of observations in 2013 using his Heavens Mirror Observatory in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. He used a Planewave 17” telescope equipped with an Apogee U16 camera, as well as a Paramount ME mount and Astrodon Ha5nm, OIII3nm, SII5nmfilters, to capture the photo.

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Located in the southern part of the North America nebula, the Cygnus Wall is one of the highest concentrations of star formations in the region. The North American Nebula, also known as NGC 7000, is approximately 1,800 light-years away from Earth and roughly 100 light-years in diameter. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). [Strange Nebula Shapes, What Do You See? (Photos)]

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by SPACE.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

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Nina Sen
Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.