Astronomy Picture of the Day -- M16: Pillars of Star Creation

NASA ^ | Sunday, April 24, 2016 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, shows evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs) emerging from pillars of molecular hydrogen gas and dust. The giant pillars are light years in length and are so dense that interior gas contracts gravitationally to form stars. At each pillars' end, the intense radiation of bright young stars causes low density material to boil away, leaving stellar nurseries of dense EGGs exposed. The Eagle Nebula, associated with the open star cluster M16, lies about 7000 light years away. The pillars of creation were imaged again in 2007 by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope in infrared light, leading to the conjecture that the pillars may already have been destroyed by a local supernova, but light from that event has yet to reach the Earth.

[SunkenCiv]

[Image Credit: J. Hester, P. Scowen (ASU), HST, NASA ]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

I didn't look, but I'm certain M16 has appeared on APoD a number of times.

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[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3244382/posts

[left that other site]

It has...but I never tire of it! :-)

[LYDIAONTARIO]

Wow! Gorgeous!

[Does so]

It has...but I never tire of it! :-)

So how many stars has it made in the meantime?

I'm waiting... ;)

[jmacusa]

The Horse Head Nebula.

[Larry Lucido]

Looks slimmer than last time. Has it lost weight?

[gov_bean_ counter]

Bump.

[left that other site]

Like I would know? LOL!

[left that other site]

I want to know its secret! :-)

[Larry Lucido]

I’m sure it involves the expulsion of a lot of hot flaming gas. :)

[left that other site]

Michael Moore is up there? ((((SHUDDER))))