North America Nebula

A massive emission nebula in Cygnus, roughly 2,590 light-years away and spanning an area four times the size of the full Moon. Its distinctive shape — resembling the North American continent — is sculpted by a dark dust lane known as the Gulf of Mexico. The nebula is part of a larger star-forming complex that includes the neighbouring Pelican Nebula (IC 5070), separated only by an intervening wall of interstellar dust. Narrowband imaging reveals intricate curtains of ionised hydrogen across the “coastline.”