Decorative print of an image taken by the Hubble Telescope. © NASA
The Eagle Nebula is located approximately 7,000 light years from the Sun. It has an apparent magnitude of 6.4.
The Eagle Nebula is an emission nebula (type HII) from which an open star cluster is forming. It consists mainly of hydrogen, which has been able to combine into hydrogen molecules due to the low temperature.
The nebula, which is approximately 20 light years in size, contains columns of dust that are up to 9.5 light years long and have new stars at their tips, which is why they have been christened the Pillars of Creation. The opacity of the nebula is caused by silicate and carbon particles.
The average age of the stars is around 800,000 years. Thanks to Hubble, detailed insights into the formation processes of stars have been gained for the first time, which have never before been observed from this angle.
