The forces of rotation caused red hot masses of stones to be torn away from the Earth and to be thrown into the ether, and this is the origin of the stars.

— Anaxagoras 428 BC

Supernova remanent in Cygnus

By marzulloj at Mon, 10/12/2009 - 12:13am
Supernova remanent in Cygnus

Central section of the veil nebula. One hour exposure.
The Veil  is a supernova remanent. It exploded some fifty thousand years ago. The filaments are a shock wave that is expanding in a dusty region, clearing it as it goes. Notice that many faint stars are visible at the bottom where the dust has been cleared than at the top.