Head of column No. 1 in Eagle Nebula

Enlarged view of the head of the largest of the three main pillars, Column 1. The head is almost transparent around the edges at near-infrared wavelengths, but there is still a substantial opaque core which even these near-infrared VLT observations cannot penetrate. The complex bluish nebulosity bisected by a dark lane near the tip is being lit up by the bright yellow star just below it, which appears to be very young and rather massive. Several of the much fainter stars to the right of and below this source are found to be associated with EGGs seen in the Hubble image, and these all have much lower masses. Finally, there is a faint streak of blue light emanating from from the tip of EGG 23, one of the darkest parts of Column 1, ending in a blue blob further north. An equal distance to the south of the EGG and off the head, there is another curving blue nebulosity. These features are also seen in the Hubble image, and may be part of a Herbig-Haro jet coming from a young star buried deeply in EGG 23 and invisible in this image.

Technical information: The region shown measures 1.9 x 2.8 light-years (0.6 x 0.9 pc). The intensity scalings have been adjusted to better show the young stars embedded in the head of each column. North is up and East left.

Crédit:

ESO/M.McCaughrean & M.Andersen (AIP)

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso0142c
Type:Observation
Date de publication:20 décembre 2001
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso0142
Taille:800 x 599 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Eagle Nebula, Messier 16
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster
Distance:7000 années lumière
Constellation:Serpens Cauda
Catégorie:Nebulae

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
106,1 Kio
JPEG taille écran
159,1 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
201,7 Kio
1280x1024
273,8 Kio
1600x1200
350,6 Kio
1920x1200
374,8 Kio
2048x1536
496,6 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):18 18 48.04
Position (Dec):-13° 49' 11.83"
Field of view:0.99 x 0.74 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.4° right of vertical

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
Infrarouge
J
1.2 μmVery Large Telescope
ISAAC
Infrarouge
H
1.65 μmVery Large Telescope
ISAAC
Infrarouge
K
Very Large Telescope
ISAAC