| 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. Some scientists have theorized that a shock wave created by a star going supernova some 6,000 years ago may have erased the Pillars of Creation, and Earth-bound stargazers will only have another 500 years or so to observe the phenomena before they disappear. Other scientists dispute this claim and believe the pillars will (or did) erode more slowly