M16 and NGC6611 (Eagle Nebula)
M16 is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens Cauda located at a distance of approximately 7,000 light years. NGC6611, the Eagle Nebula, surrounds the cluster and is comprised of a great interstellar cloud of gas and dust. This region, like the Orion Nebula, is a stellar breeding ground where new star formation continues in the region of the dark "elephant trunks," which are visible at the lower center of this image. The Hubble Space Telescope captured a now famous image of this region in 1995 as shown below.
My color image, at top, is a WCMY composite from a 210-second (21x10sec) Cookbook CCD luminance exposure obtained on 8 July 2000 (shown below) combined with cyan (21x10sec), magenta (10x10sec) and yellow (12x10sec) exposures obtained on 20 August 2000.
Additional information and images can be found at The Web Nebulae - Eagle Nebula and at the SEDS Messier Catalog - M16.
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