M16: The Eagle Nebula and The Pillars of Creation
“A breathtaking view of M16, the Eagle Nebula, highlighting the iconic Pillars of Creation amidst glowing clouds of hydrogen gas and newly born stars.”
This image showcases M16, the Eagle Nebula, a vast emission nebula and H II region located in the constellation Serpens. At the heart of the nebula lie the famous “Pillars of Creation,” towering columns of interstellar dust and gas that serve as active star-forming nurseries. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the open cluster of young, massive stars illuminates the surrounding hydrogen gas, carving out the cavity and creating the vibrant red glow.
M16 is about 5,700 light-years away and spans about 70 by 50 arcminutes. Jean-Philippe de Chéseaux discovered it in 1745–46, and its cluster of stars is only 1 to 2 million years old. The Pillars of Creation were imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 by Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen, and again in 2014.
Stacked and processed in PixInsight.
Integration
| Filter | Subs |
|---|---|
| L | 28 x 600s (4h 40m) |