M 16 - Eagle Nebula

M16, the Eagle Nebula, is an extensive emission nebula and star-forming region in the constellation Serpens. It is located about 7,000 light-years from Earth and spans roughly 70 light-years in diameter. The nebula is part of a larger complex of gas and dust clouds within the Milky Way and is closely associated with the open star cluster NGC 6611, whose young, hot stars illuminate the surrounding hydrogen gas.

The Eagle Nebula contains several light-year-long dust pillars, at the tips of which new stars are forming, giving rise to the so-called “Pillars of Creation.” The stars within these pillars are relatively young, ranging from about 50,000 to 800,000 years old. The structure of the nebula, with its prominent dust pillars, resembles a bird of prey in a diving flight, which is also the origin of the nebula’s name. The nebular structures are particularly well revealed in dual-band imaging, as demonstrated in the accompanying image. The Pillars of Creation are highlighted separately in a crop version of the original image

Shooting Data