It’s kind of a rhetorical question, since most people reading this almost certainly have seen the Eagle Nebula, also known as M16 (number 16 on Charles Messier’s list of things that aren’t interesting because they aren’t comets). It’s just that it probably wasn’t called that when you saw it.
First of all, some directions for finding it. If you look due south at about 2am you should see an unmistakable triad of stars that span most of the southern sky. These are the three bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair, often referred to as the “Summer Triangle”. The Eagle Nebula can be found southwest of the lower star, Altair.
The nebula lies about 7,000 light years away. But as always, unless you have exceptionally dark skies and a large telescope, you’re unlikely to see very much. Point a camera at it and take a couple of hours exposure and you get this.
The “Eagle” refers to the dark silhouette at the centre. But that still might not look familiar. If I zoom in and crop then you should get a better clue where you’ve seen it before.
And if that still doesn’t ring any bells then it’s time to see it as Hubble sees it.
Yes, the justly famous “Pillars of Creation” form a small part of the Eagle Nebula. You can see more of these iconic images on NASA’s website.
Three degrees to the southeast of the Eagle Nebula, you can find the Swan Nebula, M17. I’ve been collecting a regular zoo this week.
Personally, I struggle to see a swan anywhere in this. I think the bright patch is meant to be one of the wings with the neck starting on the left and curving up to the right. But I’m not at all sure about that. Maybe you’ll have better luck?
More images on the Sky at Night web page.
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astrophotography/nebulae/the-omega-nebula
And if you’ve read through all of that, or even if you haven’t, a very Happy Summer Solstice to you all!
Platitude of the Day 