Starship Asterisk*

M16 and the Eagle Nebula

Explanation: A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully detailed image of the region includes cosmic sculptures made famous in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described as elephant trunks or Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are gravitationally contracting to form stars. Energetic radiation from the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing the embedded new stars. Extending from the ridge of bright emission left of center is another dusty starforming column known as the Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 and the Eagle Nebula lie about 7,000 light-years away, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

APOD Robot wrote:M16 and the Eagle Nebula
A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. [...] M16 and the Eagle Nebula lie about 7,000 light-years away [...]

The Messier link explains why M16 IS the Eagle Nebula, and why it is okay to talk about M16 AND the Eagle Nebula. Because the star cluster (which may seem ‘suppressed’ in the featured image) is also M16. Most prominent, the stars in the neck and head of the eagle are a quite bright grouping of stars in more natural colour images.

Case wrote:

APOD Robot wrote:M16 and the Eagle Nebula
A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, M16 is also known as The Eagle Nebula. [...] M16 and the Eagle Nebula lie about 7,000 light-years away [...]

The Messier link explains why M16 IS the Eagle Nebula, and why it is okay to talk about M16 AND the Eagle Nebula. Because the star cluster (which may seem ‘suppressed’ in the featured image) is also M16. Most prominent, the stars in the neck and head of the eagle are a quite bright grouping of stars in more natural colour images.

In comparison with narrowband images, true colour images also show the reflection nebulae in this area. Either way, it look so pretty!

Case wrote:The Messier link explains why M16 IS the Eagle Nebula, and why it is okay to talk about M16 AND the Eagle Nebula. Because the star cluster (which may seem ‘suppressed’ in the featured image) is also M16. Most prominent, the stars in the neck and head of the eagle are a quite bright grouping of stars in more natural colour images.

From your comment I think you are overstating the actual eagle in the nebula, which is just the part circled here... the rest showing almost no structure at all when viewed through a telescope.

Walker's page is just awesome, and a phenomenal work. I recommend going there....

Actually the "pillars" look more like a SQUIRREL to me....holding something...but I always tell people the "Eagle" is holding a FISH...

:---[===] *

Boomer12k wrote:Walker's page is just awesome, and a phenomenal work. I recommend going there....

Actually the "pillars" look more like a SQUIRREL to me....holding something...but I always tell people the "Eagle" is holding a FISH...

:---[===] *

I really like his images of reflection nebulae.