(NGC 6611, IC 4703)
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Object Information: |
Messer 16 (NGC 6611
and IC 4703), Eagle
Nebula
This object is a combination of an emission nebula and open cluster. The open cluster, designated as NGC 6611, was first described by Philippe Loys de Cheseaux in 1745-6. The nebulosity, designated as IC 4703, was first described by Charles Messier in 1764.
The Eagle Nebula is located in the next inner spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy and is believed to be about 7,000 light years distant.
This area is known to be an area of active star formation. The long finger-shaped objects in the the image [also called "elephant trunks"] are massive columns of cold gas that extend from a vast cloud of molecular hydrogen. Inside these light-years-long columns the interstellar gas is dense enough to collapse under its own weight and is in the process of forming new stars. The emission nebula shines as a result of the radiation from the bright stars of NGC 6611.
Follow this link to a series of Hubble Space Telescope images and information on the Eagle Nebula.
The top image is a high resolution image taken through a red filter to highlight the elephant trunk structures in the center of the nebula. The bottom image is a reduced resolution color image showing the open cluster and surrounding nebulosity.
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Imaged at: |
Monochrome Image: Mt. Laguna, San Diego County, California.
Color Image: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona.
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Equipment: |
Monochrome Image:
Optics - RC Optical
Systems 10" Ritchey-Chretien at f/9
Color Image:
Optics - Takahashi
MT-200 at f/6
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Exposure Information: |
Monochrome Image:
July 5-6, 2008 Combination of twenty-four 6 minute red-filtered sub exposures.
Color Image:
May 9, 2005
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Camera Control Software:
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CCD Soft Ver. 5, |
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Image Processing Software: |
MIRA AP 7, Photoshop CS
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