Located in the constellation Serpens roughly 5,700 to 7,000 light-years from Earth, the Eagle Nebula (M16) is a spectacular emission nebula and active stellar nursery that spans approximately 70 by 55 light-years. This region is illuminated by a central cluster of young, massive stars (NGC 6611) whose intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds sculpt the surrounding clouds of cold hydrogen gas and cosmic dust into intricate structures. The nebula is most famous for the "Pillars of Creation," three columns of gas extending light-years into space where new stars are currently being born inside dense pockets known as Evaporating Gaseous Globules (EGGs). Visually resembling a bird of prey with outstretched wings, the Eagle Nebula remains one of the most significant laboratories for astronomers studying the complex processes of star formation and the interaction between massive stars and the interstellar medium.
This SHO image was captured in a Queen Creek (Arizona) Bortle 7/8 backyard using a Skywatcher Esprit 150ED telescope. The telescope is mounted on a 10Micron GM2000 HPS II mount. The camera is a ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro using Antlia HA, SII, OIII 3nm filters. It was captured over 32 nights (2025-03-21 to 2025-05-25). The images were captured using NINA and stacked/processed in Pixinsight.
Acquisition:
- Location: Queen Creek, AZ Bortle 7/8
- Dates: 2025-03-21 to 2025-05-25
- Lights (Dithered, Cooled -10°C, Gain 100):
- 100 x 600s HA
- 100 x 600s OIII
- 100 x 600s SII
- Bias: 200
- Flats: 25 Each Filter
Hardware:
- Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MM PRO
- Scope: Skywatcher Esprit 150ED
- Focuser: FocusCube2
- Guide Camera: ASI 174mm Mini
- Guide Scope: ZWO OAG-L
- Rotator: Falcon V2
- Mount: GM2000 HPS II
- Filters: Antlia HA, SII, OIII 3nm
Software: NINA, Pixinsight
Processing: Dynamic Crop, Gradient Correction, Linear Fit, Channel Comb, SPCC, BlurXterminator, NoiseXterminator, MAS, SCNR, Synthetic Lum Sharpening, L Comb, Saturation
Full image and capture details available at AstroBin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/l4eac9
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frustratedphoton/
by frustratedphoton