¿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2020 December 28 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. M16: Inside the Eagle Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Nicolas Paladini Explanation: From afar, the whole thing looks like an [4]Eagle. A closer look at the [5]Eagle Nebula, however, shows the [6]bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of [7]dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit [8]workshop appears where a whole [9]open cluster of stars is being formed. In this cavity [10]tall pillars and [11]round globules of dark dust and cold [12]molecular gas remain where stars are still forming. Already visible are several young [13]bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the [14]remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust. The Eagle [15]emission nebula, tagged M16, lies about 6500 [16]light years away, spans about 20 light-years, and is visible with [17]binoculars toward the [18]constellation of the Serpent ([19]Serpens). [20]This picture involved over 12 hours of imaging and combines three specific emitted colors emitted by [21]sulfur (colored as red), [22]hydrogen (yellow), and [23]oxygen (blue). Gallery: [24]Notable images of the recent Total Solar Eclipse submitted to APOD Tomorrow's picture: a spot of darkness __________________________________________________________________ [25]< | [26]Archive | [27]Submissions | [28]Index | [29]Search | [30]Calendar | [31]RSS | [32]Education | [33]About APOD | [34]Discuss | [35]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell ([39]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply. [41]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2012/EagleNebula_Paladini_2854.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/nicolas_paladini/ 4. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/eagles-introduction/3089/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Nebula 6. https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-02181/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvXIgpIuuxw 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/open_clusters.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201206.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081228.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201122.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200909.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181202.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html 16. https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html 17. http://www.birdwatching.com/optics/binoculars1.html#How Binoculrs Wrkk 18. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/constellations/ 19. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/serpens.html 20. https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQf9uxJ3GW/ 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur 22. http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/1/hydrogen 23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPK_rSf1WUc 24. https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=APOD.Sky&set=a.3216915061746024 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201227.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 34. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=201228 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201229.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. http://www.mtu.edu/