تصویری زیبا از خوشه ی M16 و ابر سحابی عقابی
( توضیحی درباره ی این صور زیبای فلکی: M16 در سال 1745 به وسیله "فیلیپ لویی شسو" و " ابر سحابی عقابی" در 1764 به وسیله ی "چارلز مسیر" کشف شدند.)
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2008 July 19
M16 and the Eagle Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Johannes Schedler (
Panther Observatory)
Explanation: Young star cluster
M16 is surrounded by natal clouds of cosmic dust and glowing gas also known as The Eagle Nebula. This beautifully
detailed image of the region includes fantastic
shapes made famous in well-known Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex. Described as elephant trunks or
Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are gravitationally contracting
to form stars. Energetic radiation from the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing the embedded new stars. Extending from the upper left edge of the nebula is another dusty starforming column known as the
Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 and the Eagle Nebula lie about 7,000 light-years away, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a
nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation
Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080719.html