Eagle nebula facts for kids
The Eagle Nebula is a huge cloud of gas and dust in space. It is a place where new stars are being born! This amazing nebula is found in the constellation called Serpens.
Scientists also know the Eagle Nebula by other names, like Messier 16 (or M16) and NGC 6611. Sometimes, people call it the Star Queen Nebula or The Spire. These names come from how parts of the nebula look. One very famous part is called the "Pillars of Creation". These tall, dark columns of gas and dust were famously photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Eagle Nebula is full of areas where new stars are actively forming from its gas and dust.
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What is the Eagle Nebula?
The Eagle Nebula is a special type of nebula called an H II region. This means it's a big cloud of ionized hydrogen gas. This gas glows brightly because of the energy from very hot, young stars inside it. These stars make the gas light up, allowing us to see the nebula from Earth.
Where is the Eagle Nebula located?
You can find the Eagle Nebula in the constellation Serpens. This constellation is shaped like a snake. The nebula is part of our own Milky Way galaxy. It is located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm, which is one of the spiral arms of our galaxy.
The Pillars of Creation
What are the Pillars of Creation?
The "Pillars of Creation" are tall, finger-like shapes made of cool gas and dust. They are found inside the Eagle Nebula. These pillars are where new stars are forming. The dust and gas are so thick that they block the light from stars behind them, making the pillars look dark.
How were the Pillars formed?
The Pillars of Creation are being shaped by strong winds and radiation from massive, hot, young stars nearby. These stars are so powerful they are slowly eroding the pillars. However, inside these pillars, gravity is pulling gas and dust together. This process creates new stars.
Hubble's famous image
The Hubble Space Telescope took a very famous picture of the Pillars of Creation in 1995. This image showed the incredible details of these structures. It helped us understand more about how stars are born in space. Hubble took an even clearer picture in 2014.
Star Formation in the Nebula
The Eagle Nebula is a busy place for star formation. Inside the dense clouds of gas and dust, gravity pulls material together. As more and more material collects, it gets hotter and hotter. Eventually, it becomes so hot and dense that nuclear fusion begins. This is how a new star is born.
Young star clusters
The Eagle Nebula is also home to a young open cluster of stars. An open cluster is a group of stars that were all formed at about the same time from the same cloud of gas and dust. These stars are still relatively close to each other.
Images for kids
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Wide field view of the Eagle nebula
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Locator of well-known areas in the nebula
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The "Pillars of Creation" within the Eagle Nebula
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Detail of the HST image
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HST infrared view
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The "Black Pillar" spire on the eastern perimeter is about 9.5 light-years long.
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Open cluster within the Eagle Nebula
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Northwestern part of the region, well away from the centre
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Starless version edit of the M16 Eagle Nebula, showing also the Pillars of Creation. Image total exposure of 15 hours, taken from a Bortle 7 in Nicosia, Cyprus
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The Eagle Nebula captured in the SHO Hubble palette with 3nm filters
See also
In Spanish: Nebulosa del Águila para niños
