1 min read

The Eagle Nebula

The eagle nebula

Appearing like a winged fairy-tale creature poised on a pedestal, this object is actually a billowing tower of cold gas and dust rising in the Eagle Nebula. The soaring pillar is 9.5 light-years, or about 57 trillion miles, high, about twice the distance from our Sun to the nearest star. Stars in the Eagle Nebula are born in clouds of cold hydrogen that reside in chaotic neighborhoods, where energy from young stars sculpts fantasy-like landscapes in the gas. The tower may be a giant incubator for those newborn stars. A torrent of ultraviolet light from a band of massive, hot, young stars (off the top of the image) is eroding the pillar.

Image Credit: NASA

Share

Details

Last Updated
Apr 17, 2023
Editor
NASA Hubble Mission Team

Related Terms

Explore More

A spiral galaxy seen directly from the side, such that its disk looks like a narrow diagonal band across the image. A band of dark dust covers the disk in the center most of the way out to the ends, and the disk glows around that. In the center of the galaxy, a whitish circle of light bulges out above and below the disk. Each end of the disk curves slightly. The background is black and mostly empty.
2 min read

Hubble Captures an Edge-On Spiral with Curve Appeal

Article3 days ago
Artist's concept of early stages of the young star FU Orionis outburst. The star, a bright yellow sphere near the center, and its fluffy disk of gas and dust are slightly tilted, extending from the top left corner to the bottom right. The swirling disk is bright yellow close to the star and gradually transitions to dark orange moving toward the edges of the frame. The top left and right corners reveal a black, starless background.
5 min read

NASA’s Hubble Finds Sizzling Details About Young Star FU Orionis

Article4 days ago
5 min read

NASA’s Chandra, Hubble Tune Into ‘Flame-Throwing’ Guitar Nebula

Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a “flame-throwing guitar” has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. The new movie of Chandra (red) and Palomar (blue) data helps break down what is playing […]

Article4 days ago
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno