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Hubble Space Telescope

A space-based observatory launched in 1990 by NASA and ESA, providing high-resolution images of astronomical objects in visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared light.

Source: nasa.gov

APODs including "Hubble Space Telescope"

Pillars of the Eagle Nebula in Infrared

07/03/2021

Pillars of the Eagle Nebula in Infrared
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. Gravitationally contracting in pillars of dense gas and dust, the intense radiation of these newly-formed bright stars is causing surrounding material to boil away. This image, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in near infrared light, allows the viewer to see through much of the thick dust that makes the pillars opaque in visible light. The giant structures are light years in length and dubbed informally the Pillars of Creation. Associated with the open star cluster M16, the Eagle Nebula lies about 6,500 light years away. The Eagle Nebula is an easy target for small telescopes in a nebula-rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).