M16
Eagle Nebula in Serpens

10.1” f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with Optolong L-eNhance filter
Exposures = 2 sec, Frames = 677, Gain = 30 of 250

M16 is a star-forming region about 70 light years across and 5700 light years distant. The eagle-shaped outline is clearly visible south-east of the star cluster associated with the nebula. The “Pillars of Creation”, made famous by the 1995 photo from the Hubble Space Telescope, is clearly visible as the talons and head of the eagle plus a third larger pillar above the eagle’s head. Many dark cloud structures can be seen cutting through brighter red portions of the nebula..

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 75% of 903 TIFF frames, post-processed in PixInsight.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock
more images..