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Collection:
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NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection
Collection
NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection
Collection
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Title:
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The Eagle Nebula
Title
The Eagle Nebula
Title
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Full Description:
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These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern. They are part of the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" objects that aren't comets), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Ultraviolet light is responsible for illuminating the convoluted surfaces of the columns and the ghostly streamers of gas boiling away from their surfaces, producing the dramatic visual effects that highlight the three dimensional nature of the clouds. The tallest pillar (left) is about a light-year long from base to tip. As the pillars themselves are slowly eroded away by the ultraviolet light, small globules of even denser gas buried within the pillars are uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs." EGGs is an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules," but it is also a word that describes what these objects are. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars, stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually, the stars themselves emerge from the EGGs as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly- ionized oxygen atoms.
Full_Description
These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern. They are part of the "Eagle Nebula" (also called M16 -- the 16th object in Charles Messier's 18th century catalog of "fuzzy" objects that aren't comets), a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Ultraviolet light is responsible for illuminating the convoluted surfaces of the columns and the ghostly streamers of gas boiling away from their surfaces, producing the dramatic visual effects that highlight the three dimensional nature of the clouds. The tallest pillar (left) is about a light-year long from base to tip. As the pillars themselves are slowly eroded away by the ultraviolet light, small globules of even denser gas buried within the pillars are uncovered. These globules have been dubbed "EGGs." EGGs is an acronym for "Evaporating Gaseous Globules," but it is also a word that describes what these objects are. Forming inside at least some of the EGGs are embryonic stars, stars that abruptly stop growing when the EGGs are uncovered and they are separated from the larger reservoir of gas from which they were drawing mass. Eventually, the stars themselves emerge from the EGGs as the EGGs themselves succumb to photoevaporation. The picture was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The color image is constructed from three separate images taken in the light of emission from different types of atoms. Red shows emission from singly-ionized sulfur atoms. Green shows emission from hydrogen. Blue shows light emitted by doubly- ionized oxygen atoms.
Full Description
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Date:
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04/01/1995
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NASA Center:
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Hubble Space Telescope Center
NASA_Center
Hubble Space Telescope Center
NASA Center
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Subject Category:
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Deep Space Studies
Subject_Category
Deep Space Studies
Subject Category
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Subject Category:
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Hubble
Subject_Category
Hubble
Subject Category
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Keywords:
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Space
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Keywords:
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Field
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Keywords:
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Camera
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Keywords:
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of
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Keywords:
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Eagle
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Keywords:
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Telescope
Keywords
Telescope
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Wide
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Keywords:
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Planetary
Keywords
Planetary
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Hubble
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Keywords:
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HST
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Keywords:
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Nebula
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Keywords:
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WFPC
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Keywords:
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M16
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Keywords:
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constellation
Keywords
constellation
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Serpens
Keywords
Serpens
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Evaporating
Keywords
Evaporating
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Gaseous
Keywords
Gaseous
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Globules
Keywords
Globules
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Fingers
Keywords
Fingers
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Pillars
Keywords
Pillars
Keywords
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Keywords:
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Creation
Keywords
Creation
Keywords
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Audience:
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General Public
Audience
General Public
Audience
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facet_what:
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Camera 2
facet_what
Camera 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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COMETS
facet_what
COMETS
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Serpens
facet_what
Serpens
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
facet_where
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facet_when:
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18th century
facet_when
18th century
facet_when
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facet_when:
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April 1, 1995
facet_when
April 1, 1995
facet_when
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facet_when:
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04-01-1995
facet_when
04-01-1995
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1995
facet_when_year
1995
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PR95-44A
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original_url:
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original_url
original_url
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UID:
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SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 0987
UID
SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 0987
UID
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Center:
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HSTI
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Center Number:
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PR95-44A
Center_Number
PR95-44A
Center Number
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GRIN DataBase Number:
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GPN-2000-000987
GRIN_DataBase_Number
GPN-2000-000987
GRIN DataBase Number
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Creator-Photographer:
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NASA, Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen Arizona State University
Creator-Photographer
NASA, Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen Arizona State University
Creator-Photographer
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Original Source:
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DIGITAL
Original_Source
DIGITAL
Original Source
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