Eagle Nebula

For an object in the constellation of Canis Major, the Seagull Nebula also called Eagle nebula, see IC 2177. For the famous astrophotograph, see Pillars of Creation.
The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46.Its name derives from its shape which is reminiscent of an eagle. It is the subject of a famous photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows pillars of star-forming gas and dust within the nebula.


Characteristics
The Eagle Nebula is part of a diffuse emission nebula, or H II region, which is catalogued as IC 4703.The tower of gas that can be seen coming off the nebula is approximately 57 trillion miles (97 trillion km) high.
The brightest star in the nebula has an apparent magnitude of +8.24, easily visible with good binoculars.
'Pillars of Creation' region


The "Pillars of Creation" within the Eagle Nebula. Courtesy of NASA/ESA

Images made in 1995 by Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen using the Hubble Space Telescope greatly improved scientific understanding of processes inside the nebula.One of these, a famous photograph known as the "Pillars of Creation", depicts a large region of star formation.