Home Index page Previous image Next image
Click to view the full size image:
1000 x 747, 733 KB
M16 / Eagle Nebula

Classification: Diffuse / Emission Nebula M16 / NGC6611 / IC4703 / Sh2-49
Constellation: Serpens (SER)
Object Location: Ra 18h 91m 38s Dec -13° 47’16° (current)
Size & Distance: 35 x 35 Apx 7000 light years.

Date & Location: 07-13-2007 Palomar Mountain, CA.
Exposure: Hubble Palette SHO, Sll=R, Ha=G, Olll=B, 2ea. @ 15min. All (bin 1x1)
Optics: Telescope Engineering Company APO140ED @ f/7 F/L 940mm.
Mount: Astro-Physics 900 GTO / ATS 10x36 pier.
Camera: Starlight-Xpress SXV-H9 w/ SXV guider head and 2045.
Filters: Astrodon 6nm Ha, Sll, Olll
Software: MaxImDL 4.11, Photoshop CS

Notes: Sky conditions: Good seeing, Light wind, Temp 60°
Image Field of view is 23 x 31 arcmin.
This image was published by S&T in Nov, 2007 for an "On the Web" ad.
___________________________________________________________

The Eagle Nebula  M16, and as NGC 6611, its name derives from its shape that is thought to resemble an eagle. It contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the famous "Pillars of Creation", photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Eagle Nebula is part of a diffuse emission nebula, or H II region, which is catalogued as IC 4703. This region of active current star formation is about 7000 light-years distant. The tower of gas (Pillars of Creation) that can be seen coming off the nebula is approximately 9.5 light-years or about 90 trillion kilometers long.
.
.