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Explanation: The dust sculptures of the Eagle Nebula are evaporating. As powerful starlight whittles away these cool cosmic mountains, the statuesque pillars that remain might be imagined as mythical beasts. Pictured above is one of several striking dust pillars of the Eagle Nebula that might be described as a gigantic alien fairy. This fairy, however, is ten light years tall and spews radiation much hotter than common fire. The greater Eagle Nebula, M16, is actually a giant evaporating shell of gas and dust inside of which is a growing cavity filled with a spectacular stellar nursery currently forming an open cluster of stars. The above image in scientifically re-assigned colors was released as part of the fifteenth anniversary celebration of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
Publications with words: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2026 May 31 Á Eagle Nebula Pillars in Infrared from Hubble
- APOD: 2024 October 22 Á M16: Pillars of Star Creation
- APOD: 2023 July 25 Á The Eagle Nebula with Xray Hot Stars
- APOD: 2023 May 15 Á M16: Eagle Nebula Deep Field
- M16: A Star Forming Pillar from Webb
- Pillars of Creation
- Star Forming Eagle Nebula without Stars