The “Eagle” that Guards the Stars: Messier 16 and its Majestic Cosmic Landscape
The stunning “Eagle Nebula“, aka Messier 16, reveals itself and its surroundings in this dramatic image we are pleased to share.
Messier 16 (NGC 6611), also know as “Eagle Nebula”.
We are pleased to share with you an extraordinary image, showing the famous “Eagle Nebula” (aka Messier 16 and NGC 6611) and the intricate surrounding lacework of gas, captured with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy.
This nebula, located at a distance of about 7,000 light-years from Earth and visible in the constellation Serpens (the Serpent — the only constellation divided into two parts, Caput and Cauda, meaning “head” and “tail”; here we are in the latter), is a vast star-forming region: a true cosmic laboratory where matter collapses under the effects of its own gravity, giving birth to new stars.
Within the enormous cloud of gas and dust lie the famous “Pillars of Creation”, dark columns sculpted by the intense radiation of young stars, made iconic by the images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope.
The image acquired by the Virtual Telescope Project, obtained through the use of a filter transmitting only the H-alpha emission line of hydrogen, reveals not only the Pillars, but the entire structure of the nebula itself. In order to better appreciate its finest details, the stars have been removed using a dedicated processing algorithm.
Another masterpiece, another wonder of the immense Universe in which we are immersed.
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