These are two Hubble images of the "Pillars of Creation" in the Eagle Nebula. The left image captures a visible light view, showing an opaque cloud of gas and dust. On the right, near-infrared light penetrates much of the gas and dust, revealing stars behind the nebula and hidden away inside the pillars.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Project (STScI, AURA)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611 |
| Object Description | Emission Nebula |
| R.A. Position | 18h 18m 48.17s |
| Dec. Position | -13° 48' 26.03" |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Distance | 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data of M16 were obtained from the HST proposal , P.I. Z. Levay, J. Mack, C. Christian, L. Frattare, M. Livio, S. Meyett, M. Mutchler, and J. Sokol (STScI/AURA), and K. Noll (NASA/GSFC). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS (left) and HST>WFC3/IR (right) |
| Exposure Dates | September 2014 |
| Filters | WFC3/UVIS: F502N ([O III]), F657N (H-alpha + [N II]), and F673N ([S II]) WFC3/IR: F110W (YJ) and F160W (H) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: WFC3/UVIS Image of M16: Blue: F502N ([O III]) Green: F657N (Hα + [N II]) Red: F673N ([S II]) WFC3/IR Image of M16: Blue: F110W (YJ) Yellow: F160W (H) |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
