Tuesday, Jul 23, 2024

M16 also known as the Eagle Nebula is one of the most distinctive targets on the Messier Catalog. M16 is a reflection/emission nebula and a star cluster. The Eagle refers to the dark area in the center of the nebula. This area was made famous by the “Pillars of Creation” imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. There are several active star-forming regions in this nebula.M16 is about 5700 light-years away and lies in the constellation of Serpens.