North America Nebula. Optical image of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) in the constellation Cygnus, the swan. North is at top. This nebula (red, just left of centre) is named as its outline resembles the North American continent. It is a huge cloud of gas which glows as the hydrogen it contains is ionised by nearby hot stars. The bright star to its right is Deneb (Alpha Cygni). This is an extremely powerful white supergiant star which lies over 1500 light years from Earth. The Milky Way passes through Cygnus, and there are numerous nebulae and star clusters in this region.