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.

                               2019 August 10
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                M16 Close Up
            Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Ignacio Diaz Bobillo

   Explanation: A star cluster around 2 million years young surrounded by
   natal clouds of dust and glowing gas, [5]M16 is also known as The Eagle
   Nebula. [6]This beautifully detailed image of the region adopts the
   colorful Hubble palette and includes [7]cosmic sculptures made famous
   in Hubble Space Telescope close-ups of the starforming complex.
   Described as elephant trunks or [8]Pillars of Creation, dense, dusty
   columns rising near the center are light-years in length but are
   gravitationally contracting [9]to form stars. Energetic radiation from
   the cluster stars erodes material near the tips, eventually exposing
   the embedded new stars. Extending from the ridge of bright emission
   left of center is another dusty starforming column known as the
   [10]Fairy of Eagle Nebula. M16 lies about 7,000 light-years away, an
   easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a [11]nebula rich
   part of the sky toward the split constellation [12]Serpens Cauda (the
   tail of the snake).

                      Watch: [13]Perseid Meteor Shower
                   Tomorrow's picture: bridge to the stars
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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1908/M16_HSHO_crop2.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.pampaskies.com/gallery3/index.php
   5. http://messier.seds.org/m/m016.html
   6. http://www.pampaskies.com/gallery3/Hubble-Palette-Images/M16_HSHO_crop2
   7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Nebula
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150107.html
   9. http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Bima/StarForm.html
  10. http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/12b/index.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130712.html
  12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpens
  13. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190809.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190810
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190811.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/