Inside the Eagle Nebula
影像版權與提供: T. A. Rector & B. A. Wolpa, NOAO, AURA
Explanation:
From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look at 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.
說明:
從遠處看，整體看起來像隻老鷹，然而，靠近一點看老鷹星雲，顯現出其中那塊明亮的區域，實際上就是一個通往由塵埃所組成的暗雲中心之窗口。 透過此窗口，一座燈火通明的工廠呈現眼前，在那裡一個疏散星團正逐漸形成。 在這個洞穴裡，高大的雲柱、冰冷分子氣體雲和由黯淡塵埃組成的圓形雲球，仍留在這個正在形成恆星的區域。 在這個區域內，還可以看到幾顆剛形成的年輕藍色亮星，它們的光與恆星風正燃燒掉殘留的細絲般氣體，並將氣體與塵埃所築成的高牆往外推擠。 又稱為 M16的老鷹星雲，是一種發射星雲，它位於6500光年外，大小約20光年寬，用雙筒望遠鏡朝北天 巨蛇座的方向即可看到。 這幅影像是經過數位合成的彩色影像，原始的影像是三幅透過特殊發射譜線濾光片所拍攝的照片。拍攝這些影像的是美國．亞利桑那州 基特峰(Kitt Peak)上的0.9米的望遠鏡。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
