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M16-29-06-2025-Luc Viatour
2025-06-29
- Classification
- Photograph
- Museum
- Wikimedia Commons
- Credit line
- Own work, www.lucnix.be
- Rights
- CC BY-SA 4.0, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Kids profiles and older: it shows nature, places, still life or a children's book. How works are placed
About this work
Messier 16: The Eagle Nebula and the Pillars of Creation in Ultra-High Resolution (121MP)
Nestled in the Sagittarius Arm within the constellation Serpens, the Eagle Nebula (M16) offers one of the most iconic sights in modern astrophysics. Located approximately 5,700 light-years from our solar system, this ionized hydrogen region (H II region) harbors the open cluster NGC 6611, composed of young, hot, and highly massive stars.
At the center of the cloud stand the famous Pillars of Creation, immortalized and made world-famous in 1995 thanks to a historic photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Thanks to Hubble's exceptional resolution, astronomers were able to observe small condensations at the tips of these structures, known as EGGs (Evaporating Gaseous Globules). Shielded from radiation deep within these towers of dark material, the gas collapses under its own gravity to give birth to new stellar systems.
Acquisition details:
Camera: Modified Nikon Z7 (45MP 14-bit)
Optics: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED refractor
Focal length: 861 mm drizzle x2 and dithering
Mount: Skywatcher Wave 150i equatorial mount
Filter: IDAS NBZII
Exposure: 03h25' (41x300s) at ISO 800
