Explanation:
Young star cluster
M16 is
surrounded by natal clouds of cosmic
dust and glowing gas also known as The Eagle Nebula.
This beautifully
detailed image of the region includes
fantastic
shapes made famous in
well-known 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 upper left edge of the nebula 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).
digg_url = 'http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080719.html'; digg_skin = 'compact';
