101 Must-See Cosmic Objects: The North America Nebula

NGC 7000 looks as big as a continent — the continent of North America, to be exact. This emission nebula lies near Deneb in the tail of Cygnus. It is 2° by 12/3° across, or 10 times the area of the Full Moon. William Herschel discovered it, but it was cataloged by his son, John. They both saw the shape as indistinct, combined with abundant stars in the Milky Way. German astronomer Max Wolf photographed the area in 1890 and named it the North America Nebula. NGC 7000 is part of a la