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Credit & Copyright: Dieter Willasch
(Astro-Cabinet)
Explanation:
The Eagle Nebula and the Swan Nebula span
this
broad starscape, a telescopic view of the
Sagittarius
spiral arm toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
The Eagle, also known as M16, is left, above center, and the Swan,
or M17 at the lower right.
The deep, wide-field image shows the cosmic clouds as
brighter regions of active star-formation.
They lie along the spiral arm suffused with
reddish emission charactistic of
atomic hydrogen gas, and dusty dark nebulae.
In fact, the center of both nebulae are locations of well-known
close-up images of
star formation
from the Hubble Space Telescope.
M17, also called the Omega Nebula, is about 5500 light-years away,
while M16 is some 6500 light-years distant.
In the frame that covers 3 degrees across the sky, the extended wings
of the Eagle Nebula are spread over 120 light-years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 16 - M 17
Publications with words: M 16 - M 17
See also: