The Eagle Nebula, also known as the Star Queen Nebula and The Spire, is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula, an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation". The nebula contains several active star-forming gas and dust regions, including the Pillars of Creation. The cluster associated with the nebula has approximately 8100 stars, which are mostly concentrated in a gap in the molecular cloud to the north-west of the Pillars.
Background photo by Hubble space telescope. |