Want to know more about Picture the stars’ new Deep Space Hubble Prints? Well here is everything you will need to know about NASA’s Eagle Nebula – Pillars of Creation.
Our first Print is the Pillars of creation Located in the Eagles Nebula. One of Hubble’s most favoured images. Liked so much that it was revisited twice, first in 1995 only 5 years after the Hubble Telescope was launched and again 20 years later to mark its 25th anniversary in orbit.
The Eagles Nebula, also known as Messier 16 or M16 discovered by the Swiss Astronomer Jean-Phillipe Loys de Cheseaux in 1745 is located 7000 Light Years from Earth (or 2000 Parsecs for the sci-fi buffs out there) and can be measured at a whopping 70 by 55 Light Years. M16 is located in the Constellation Serpens, one of the 48 constellations listed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century.
How The Pillars of Creation Is Formed
Within NASA’s Eagle Nebula you will find The Pillars of Creation, the three towering pillars of gas and dust that resemble Buttes in the Desert, an easily identifiable feature in this visually stunning image. These pillars are a part of an active star forming region that hides its newborn stars throughout the columns. These dense clouds are made up of Molecular Hydrogen Gas and Dust that have survived much longer than their surroundings.
The newborn stars give off ultraviolet light and it is this process of high energy radiation that causes changes in substances it hits known as photoevaporation. This phenomenon causes the pillars to break down slowly, ultimately revealing tiny globules of even denser gas buried within them. These Globules are known as evaporating gaseous globules or EGG’s! Within these EGG’s embryonic stars form inside that then abruptly stop growing when they are uncovered, separating them from the larger cluster of gas they were drawing mass. These stars eventually emerge from the EGG’s.
The Pillars of creation changed the model of star formation which was used by astronomers to identify more accurate counts of newly formed stars as well the quantities of Gas and Dust within the gas and dust in the region. Slowly but surely, they will begin to build a clearer understanding of how stars are formed and burst out of these dusty clouds over millions of years.
How To See The Eagle Nebula
With an apparent Magnitude of 6, this means it is barely visible to the naked eye. The Eagles Nebula can be viewed with a small telescope, for the best viewing conditions it would be best to do this within the month of July. To view the Pillars of creation a much larger telescope and optimal viewing conditions would be required. If you would like to know more on how to set yourself up for stargazing check out our blogs on 5 tips for stargazing and 8 Essentials items to take star gazing.
To get your copy of the Eagle Nebula’s – Pillars of Creation click here
