“We are the cosmos made conscious, and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.”
Professor Brian Cox
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is roughly 2.5 million light-years away and 220,000 light-years across. It is our largest and closest galactic neighbor in our local group. Estimated to contain approximately one trillion stars, the galaxy is about three full moons wide in the night sky and is visible as a fuzzy patch of light. Hurtling towards our own Milky Way Galaxy at around 120 kilometers per second, the two will collide in 4.5 billion years.
The Triangulum Galaxy (M33) is about 2.7 million light-years away, and is estimated to contain around 40 billion stars. This makes it the smallest of the three large galaxies in our local group, after Andromeda and our Milky Way. Measuring about 60,000 light-years across, it is thought to be the farthest object visible to the naked eye.
The Western Veil Nebula (NGC 6960) was formed by the explosive supernova death of a star around 9,000 years ago. Spanning approximately 35 light-years across within the larger Cygnus Loop, it is made of glowing ionized gases - primarily hydrogen (red/orange) and oxygen (blue/green). These gases are energized by the star's expanding shockwave.
The Sadr Region (IC 1318) isn't actually one simple nebula. It is a large, complex emission-nebula region containing multiple bright and dark structures. The famous butterfly appearance comes from bright nebulosity separated by a prominent dark dust lane. There are also numerous additional dark nebulae throughout the field. IC 1318 is roughly 4,000 light-years away.
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula (IC 1396A) is a massive concentration of cosmic matter located withing the larger IC 1396 emission nebula. Located 2,400 light-years away, the "trunk" is around 25 light-years across, and the larger nebulosity is about 100 LY.
The Eastern Veil Nebula is the sister to the Western Veil Nebula, and forms another significant part of the Cygnus Loop. They are both cosmic shockwaves resulting from a massive star's supernova death. When it happened (around 9,000 years ago) the resulting explosion would have been brighter than Venus in the sky, and likely would have been visible in the daytime.