The Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation of Serpens.
Click the image to zoom in (4 steps), then again for full view · hover to see it annotated · open full resolutionAnnotated image · click to zoom in (4 steps), then again for full view · open full resolutionSky location chart · click to zoom in (4 steps), then again for full view · open full resolution
The Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation of Serpens. Alternatively, it is catalogued as Messier 16, M16, or NGC 6611, and sometimes referred to as the Star Queen Nebula. This cluster discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745–46. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula, an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the aforementioned Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way.
[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Nebula]
Annotated Image
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Sky Location
The chart above shows where this image sits on the night sky. The yellow outline is its field of view, with the picture itself drawn at its true orientation; north is up and east is left. Click the chart to zoom in, and use "open full resolution" for the full-size chart.
Image Details
| Moon Phase: | New Moon |
|---|---|
| Camera: | ToupTek ATR2600C |
| Optics: | Skywatcher Esprit 120ED, 840 mm focal length, f/7 (120 mm aperture, APO triplet) |
| Date: | 2025-09-21 |
| Number of images: | 3 |
| Exposure per image: | 10 min (600 s) |
| Total imaging time: | 30 min |
PixInsight Processing
- Image Integration (x3)
- Channel Combination
- PixelMath
