M 16

M16, the Eagle Nebula (can you see the overall shape of an eagle?) is both an open star cluster and a large bright area of emission nebulosity. . Within M16 are several complex star forming regions, the most noteworthy of which is variously referred to as the "Star Queen and her Throne" or the Pillars of Creation" (made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope image). Towards the center in this photograph, the Star Queen is a giant structure more than 6 light years from end to end. Another giant star forming region is the "elephant trunk" structure to the upper left. M16 is about 7,000 light years distant. It was catalogued by Charles Messier in June 1764, who was also the first person to note the nebulosity surrounding the star cluster.

I colorized this image using Noel Carboni's Photoshop plug in