| Telescope / Lens | TEC 140mm APO F/7 Refractor |
| Mount Type | Astro-Physics AP1200 |
| Camera | SBIG ST8XME NABG |
| Filters | Astrodon LRGB+HA Generation 1 |
| Film | CCD |
| Exposure | Total exposure time 115 minutes |
| Processing | CCDSoft & Photoshop CS2 |
| Date | June 20, 2007 |
| Location | June Mountain, near Dexter, Oregon 122° 43.53 W 43° 48.41′ N |
| Conditions | 3252′ magnitude 6.2+ Skies; Clear & Steady |
The Eagle Nebula, M16 is an 8th magnitude Open Cluster in the constellation of Serpens next to Ophiuchus with this cluster lying near Sagittarius. Through a telescope the cluster of stars is visible but little or no nebulosity can be seen. This is because ours eyes are not sensitive enough to see the nebulosity. Therefore long images on film or CCD are needed to show the nebulosity. The three central pillars were imaged by The Hubble Space Telescope and are referred to as the” Pillars of Creation. Most importantly, you can see small stars that are emerging from these dust clouds. 55 stars make up this Open Stars Cluster lying 7,000 lights years from Earth.
Below is a cropped view that clearly resemble the famous “Pillars of Creation” taken by the Bubble Space Telescope in 1995 by Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen. Remember this image was taken trough a modest TEC 140mm Refractor telescope here on earth, near Dexter, Oregon.
Sad Note:
Evidence from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) indicates that the “Pillars of Creation” have already been destroyed. A Super Nova explosion’s shock wave has destroyed these structures. Therefore the image we see no longer exists. Since we are thousands of light years away it will be a millennia before we see the damage caused by the shock waves. The light from this super nova would have been visible on Earth some 1000-2000 years ago.