The Eagle Nebula is part of a diffuse
emission nebula, or
H II region, which is catalogued as
IC 4703. This region of active current star formation is about 5700
light-years distant. A
spire of gas that can be seen coming off the
nebula in the northeastern part is approximately 9.5 light-years or about 90 trillion kilometers long.The cluster associated with the nebula has approximately 8100 stars, which are mostly concentrated in a gap in the molecular cloud to the north-west of the Pillars.The brightest star (HD 168076) has an
apparent magnitude of +8.24, easily visible with good binoculars. It is actually a
binary star formed of an
O3.5V star plus an O7.5V companion. This star has a mass of roughly 80
solar masses, and a luminosity up to 1 million times that of the
Sun. The cluster's age has been estimated to be 1–2 million years.The descriptive names reflect impressions of the shape of the central pillar rising from the southeast into the central luminous area. The name "Star Queen Nebula" was introduced by
Robert Burnham, Jr., reflecting his characterization of the central pillar as the Star Queen shown in silhouette. (Wikipedia)
I guess this is a bit of a rite of passage for any astrophotographer, to do a proper Pillars of Creation. I imaged the object late in the season at between 25 and 35 degrees above the horizon.
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