Eagle Nebula

space · star formation · nebula

Looks like an eagle. The nebula's dark center creates a silhouette that looks like an eagle spreading its wings, which is why people named it the Eagle Nebula.

Birthplace of stars. Deep inside the Eagle Nebula, gravity is pulling together giant clouds of gas and dust to create brand new stars that are still being born.

Hubble's masterpiece. The Hubble Space Telescope took an amazing photo of three tall columns of gas and dust inside the nebula called the Pillars of Creation, which became one of the most famous space pictures ever taken.

Part of our galaxy. The Eagle Nebula sits in the Sagittarius Arm, one of the spiral arms that make up the Milky Way galaxy we live in.

Found long ago. Astronomer Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux discovered the Eagle Nebula way back in 1745 or 1746, before telescopes were even very powerful.