This image may not be used to state or imply NOAO endorsement of any company or product Eagle Nebula. Optical image of the Eagle Nebula (M16, NGC 6611

---

This image may not be used to state or imply NOAO endorsement of any company or product Eagle Nebula. Optical image of the Eagle Nebula (M16, NGC 6611). This is an emission nebula, a cloud of gas that glows as the hydrogen gas it contains is ionised by radiation from the hot young stars within it. The stars in the cluster are about 5. 5 million years old, young in stellar terms. They formed from the coalescence of the nebula's gas. M16 is around 7000 light years from Earth in the constellation Serpens Cauda. This image was produced by a CCD (charge-coupled device) at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, USA.

---

Size: 4000px × 3868px
Photo credit: © NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORIES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 6611, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysics, birth, cauda, ccd, charge-coupled, cluster, cosmology, device, eagle, evolution, formation, gas, hydrogen, kitt, m16, mosaic, national, nebula, nebulae, ngc, observator, open, peak, science, serpens, space, star, starbirth, starry, stars, stellar