Latest news with #Messier16
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the week: Iconic 'Eagle Nebula' gets a major glow-up on Hubble's 35th anniversary
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS What it is: The Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) Where it is: 7,000 light-years away, in the constellation Serpens When it was shared: April 18, 2025 There are few more iconic images from the Hubble Space Telescope than this one. A colossal pillar of gas and dust towering 9.5 light-years tall, this spectacular structure in the Eagle Nebula highlights the breathtaking beauty sculpted by the forces of star formation. The stunning image, originally published in 2005, is an important part of why the Hubble is so loved. The photo has been newly processed using modern techniques to show the "cosmic pillar" in even more detail, with layers of cold gas and dust seen by Hubble's visible and infrared cameras. The new image more clearly shows how the radiation from the hot, young stars in the more dramatic top half of the image is lighting up — but also eroding — the massive tower. The image covers an area equal to twice the distance from the sun to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own. Related: Stunning 'pillars of creation' shine like never before in new James Webb Telescope image If you think this newly minted snapshot looks a bit like an even more famous Hubble image, the iconic Pillars of Creation, there's a reason for that. Hubble's images of three towers of cosmic dust and gas that resemble a pointing finger — first released in 1995 and improved upon in 2015 to mark Hubble's 25th anniversary — are relatively nearby in the Eagle Nebula (M16). In fact, both images are of dust pillars around the edge of the nebula's heart, where the radiation from a cluster of young stars called NGC 6611 has sculpted a cavity in the dusty gas. SEE MORE SPACE PHOTOS — James Webb telescope reveals hidden past of the 'Crystal Ball Nebula' —Mars rises over the moon's horizon at the best possible time —The chaotic heart of the Milky Way like you've never seen it before Serpens is prominent in the night sky during the Northern Hemisphere's summer. It can be found in the south, between the bright stars Aquila and Antares and beneath the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer. This photo of M16 is the latest redux image published to mark the 35th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, which launched on the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990 and was released from the cargo hatch the following day. Earlier this month, new images revisiting NGC 346 and the Sombrero Galaxy were published. For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Colorful Eagle Nebula glows in stunning new image from Hubble Telescope
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A breathtaking new image of the famous Eagle Nebula captures a towering pillar of gas and dust sculpted by intense stellar radiation. The Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16, is located about 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens. It is a well-known stellar nursery with vast swaths of cosmic dust and gas from which new stars are born. The nebula is famously known for the iconic "Pillars of Creation" image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. A new image taken by the space telescope showcases a lesser-known pillar within the Eagle Nebula, revealing its complex textures and the effects of intense ultraviolet radiation from baby stars sculpting the surrounding gas and dust, according to a statement from the European Space Agency. "Unfurling along the length of the image is a pillar of cold gas and dust that is 9.5 light-years tall," ESA officials said in the statement. "As enormous as this dusty pillar is, it's just one small piece of the greater Eagle Nebula." The recent Hubble image was created using new data processing techniques developed since Hubble last studied this region in 2005. Astronomers are revisiting exciting Hubble targets like the Eagle Nebula in honor of the space telescope's upcoming 35th anniversary this week. The Eagle Nebula is shaped by dense clouds of gas and dust that create a silhouette resembling an eagle with outstretched wings. A cluster of young stars lies outside the frame of this new Hubble image, but has impacted the formation of nearby cosmic structures. Denser gas regions are more resistant to radiation and stellar winds from young stars, allowing them to remain as dusty sculptures, like this newly imaged star-forming pillar. "The Eagle Nebula is one of many nebulas in the Milky Way that are known for their sculpted, dusty clouds," ESA officials said in the statement. "Nebulas take on these fantastic shapes when exposed to powerful radiation and winds from infant stars."
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space picture of the day for April 18, 2025
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Hubble Space Telescope has re-imaged the Eagle Nebula, 20 years after it did so to mark 15 years of service. This time, astronomers have used new processing techniques to draw out additional details in celebration of the telescope's upcoming 35th anniversary. A cosmic cloud of cold hydrogen gas, this towering pillar is part of the Eagle Nebula. It is here where new stars are born among the collapsing clouds. "Hot, energetic and formed in great numbers, the stars unleash an onslaught of ultraviolet light and stellar winds that sculpt the gas clouds around them. This produces fantastical shapes like the narrow pillar with blossoming head that we see here," reads a caption for the image prepared by the Hubble Space Telescope team. The thick and opaque material in the pillar is outlined by the glow of more distant gas behind it. The blue colors in the background are from ionized oxygen; the red lower down is glowing hydrogen. Orange indicates starlight peeking through the dust: bluer wavelengths are blocked by dust, leaving only the redder light to shine through. This 9.5-light-year-tall (or about 90 trillion kilometers) pillar is just a small section of the Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16. This tower of gas and dust is located near the iconic "Pillars of Creation" revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and 2015. The Eagle Nebula is one of many nebulae in the Milky Way, located about 5,700 light-years from Earth. This image is part of a series of observations being made to mark 35 years of observations for the Hubble Space Telescope. Deployed into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990, the orbiting observatory became famous for its ability to be repaired and upgraded by astronauts, enabling stunning views of our universe like this one. You and see and read more about another Hubble Space Telescope 35th anniversary image, this one of the Sombrero Galaxy. You can also read more about the Eagle Nebula and what the same area looks like in the infrared.
