From afar, the whole thing looks like an A closer look at the
however, shows the region is actually a window into the center
of a larger dark shell of Through this window, a brightly-lit
where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed. In this
cavity tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold
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 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 the
constellation of the Serpent This picture combines three
specific emitted colors and was taken with the 0.9-meter
telescope on