Probably one of the most iconic astro-photography motifs: The central portion of M16, the Eagle Nebula. The Eagle’s head is clearly visible as it looks down on the “Pillars of Creation”. Here a so-called SHO colour pallet has been used to render the narrowband portion of the data: S-II red/yellow, H-alpha blue/green, O-III blue. The nebula contains several star forming regions including the Pillars themselves. The cluster associated with the nebula which lies above and to the left of the Pillars contains ca. 8100 stars. This region of the neubula is visible with the naked eye having an apparent magnitude of 6.4. The images was completed using data from a remote hosting facility in Chile.
Planewave CDK 17
Software Bisque Paramount ME
SBIG STXL11002 (with AO)
L,R,G,B, H-alpha, S-II and O-III filters
ca. 28 hrs, Gain 0/2750, F6.8, 2939 mm