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Catalogue and alternative designations M16, NGC 6611, Eagle nebula

 

Type Emission Nebula 
Position 18 18 48, -13 49
Constellation Serpens
Camera and Telescope STXL6303 and 36.8 cm Ritchey Chretien
Focal Ratio F9
Exposure Details

Hubble palette version (SII:Ha:OIII) 150 minutes Ha, 460 minutes of SII and 450 minutes of OIII.  A 130 minute LRGB exposure provided the star colour.

Description (description adapted from Wikipedia) 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 single tower of gas that can be seen coming off the nebula is approximately 9.5 light-years or about 90 trillion kilometers long.  The famous "Pillars of Creation" imaged by HST in 1995 and again in 2015 are visible at the centre of these images.