| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| H II region | |
 Three-colour composite mosaic image of the Eagle Nebula, with north at top. Credit: ESO | |
| Observation data: J2000.0 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 18h 18m 48s[1] |
| Declination | −13° 49′[1] |
| Distance | 5,700±400 ly (1,740±130[2] pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.4[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 70 x 50 arcmins[citation needed] |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 70×55 (cluster 15)[citation needed] ly |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | -8.21[citation needed] |
| Notable features | 1–2 million years old[citation needed] |
| Designations | Messier 16, NGC 6611,[1] Sharpless 49, RCW 165, Cr 375, Gum 83, Star Queen Nebula |
The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen Nebula) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745–46. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula,[4][5] an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the aforementioned Pillars of Creation. The Eagle Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way.
- ^ a b c "M 16". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- ^ Kuhn, Michael A.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Sills, Alison; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V. (2018). "Kinematics in Young Star Clusters and Associations with Gaia DR2". The Astrophysical Journal. 870 (1): 32. arXiv:1807.02115. Bibcode:2019ApJ...870...32K. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaef8c. S2CID 119328315.
- ^ "Messier 16". SEDS Messier Catalog. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ Martin MacPhee (8 July 2014). "The awesome beauty of M16, the Eagle Nebula". EarthSky. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ Robert Burnham Jr. (1978). Burnham's Celestial Handbook. Dover. pp. 1786, 1788. ISBN 978-0-486-23673-5.