NGC 7000 North American Nebula

NGC 7000, often referred to as the "North American Nebula" due to its conspicuous shape, is a region of a much larger area of hydrogen emission covering much of the constellation Cygnus. It lies 3 degrees east of the bright star, Deneb, seen to the right of this photograph. IC 5070, the "Pelican Nebula" lies just to the west of NGC 7000, just off the "east coast." The complex lies at a distance of 1600 light years.

This emission nebula is famous partly because it resembles Earth's continent of North America. To the right of the North America Nebula, cataloged as NGC 7000, is a less luminous Pelican Nebula. The two emission nebula measure about 50 light-years across, are located about 1500 light-years away, and are separated by a dark absorption cloud. The nebulae can be seen with binoculars from a dark location.

Look for a small nebular patch north-east of bright star Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus. It is still unknown which star or stars ionize the red-glowing hydrogen gas.