Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


The Eagle Nebula in Hydrogen Oxygen, and Silicon
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The Eagle Nebula in Hydrogen Oxygen, and Silicon
Credit & Copyright: IAC, Daniel Lopez
Explanation: Bright blue stars are still forming in the dark pillars of the Eagle Nebula. Made famous by a picture from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, the Eagle Nebula shows the dramatic process of star formation. To above picture taken by a 0.8-meter telescope in the Canary Islands captures part of M16, the open cluster of stars that is being created. The high amount of detail in the above image results from it being taken only in specific colors of light emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon. The bright blue stars of M16 have been continually forming over the past 5 million years, most recently in the famous central gas and dust columns that have been informally dubbed the Pillars of Creation and the Fairy. Light takes about 7,000 years to reach us from M16, which spans about 20 light years and can be seen with binoculars toward the constellation of the Serpent (Serpens).


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Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
Publications with words: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
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