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Eagle Nebula (M16) Pillar Detail: Portion of Top

A purple-hued image with a dense, square-shaped cloud in the middle, and two stars.
A detail of the Eagle Nebula (M16) showing a portion of a pillar of gas and dust. Light from nearby bright, hot, young stars is sculpting the cloud into intricate forms and causing the gas to glow.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    18h 18m 51.05s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -13° 49' 51.11"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Serpens
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    About 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10393: K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, and T. Royle (The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    November 4 - 7, 2004, Exposure Time: 3.4 hours
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W (B), F555W (V), F502N ([O III]), F658N (Halpha + [N II]), F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Eagle Nebula, M16,NGC 6611, IC 4703
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Gaseous Nebula in Open Cluster
  • Release Date
    April 25, 2005
  • Science Release
    Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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A purple-hued image with a dense, square-shaped cloud in the middle, and two stars.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

Blue: F435W (B) + F502N ([O III]) Green: F555W (V) + F658N (Halpha + [N II]) + F502N ([O III]) Red: F658N (Halpha + [N II]) + F814W (I)

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Details

Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov