The North America Nebula (aka NGC 7000) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb, the bright star at the tail of the Swan. The remarkable shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes incorrectly called the “North American Nebula”.

The nebula appears large (about 4X the area of the Moon) but very dim in the sky. It can’t be seen with the naked eye but is visible with good binoculars with a dark sky.

Image Credit: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be