June 11, 2002
Somewhere between the hydrogen and the starlight, between the gravity and the grace, the universe conspired to bring you into being.
Inside the Eagle Nebula
Birthday · June 11, 2002
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 11, 2002. Credit: T. A. Rector. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look of the Eagle Nebula, however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed. In this cavity tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold molecular gas remain where stars are still forming. Already visible are several young bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust. The Eagle emission nebula, tagged M16, lies about 6500 light years away, spans about 20 light-years, and is visible with binoculars toward the constellation of Serpens. The above picture combines three specific emitted colors and was taken with the 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA.
Image credit: T. A. Rector