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Lying some 7,000 light years distant in the constellation Serpens, and in the next inner spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy from us (the Sagittarius or Sagittarius-Carina Arm) a great cloud of interstellar gas and dust has entered a vivid process of star formation.

Open star cluster M16 has formed from this great gaseous and dusty cloud, the diffuse Eagle Nebula IC 4703, which is now caused to shine by emission light, excited by the high-energy radiation of its massive hot, young stars. It is actually still in the process of forming new stars, this formation taking place near the dark "elephant trunks" which are well visible in the photograph.

This stellar swarm is only about 5.5 million years old with star formation still active in the Eagle Nebula; this results in the presence of very hot young stars.

 

Photographs and astronomical descriptions courtesy of NASA and AURA/STScI

Tales of the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl

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