Object Name – Messier 16, IC 4703 or Eagle nebula.
Object Type – Open cluster and emission nebula.
J2000.0 Equatorial Coordinates – 18h 19m 11s; -13° 47’ 45”.
Apparent Size –40’ x 30’.
Constellation – Serpens.

This wide field IAC80 image is centred on the M 16 open cluster and the IC 4703 nebular complex. The nebula is known as the Eagle Nebula due to its characteristic shape when viewed through a small telescope. The final mosaic is composed of two different fields containing the main structure of the nebula.

M 16 is located in Serpens, within the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way, at about 7,000 light years from Earth. The nebula itself spans approximately 70 x 55 light years and harbours an open cluster populated by 5,5 million years old stars.

This nebula-cluster complex is actually a stellar nursery, a gigantic cloud of dust and gas (mainly hydrogen) in which frantic stellar formation is taking place. The baby stars are embedded in structures coined as "Pillars of Creation" after a famous Hubble Space Telescope snapshot. Those pillars can be seen to the top left of the IAC80 mosaic. The nebular gas collapses under the action of gravity to form stellar embryos which illuminate the pillars creating spectacular structures. This stellar formation process is very common in our Milky Way and was responsible for the birth of the M 16 open cluster.