My Astrophotography – Messier 16

Messier 16 (Eagle Nebula / Star Queen Nebula)

• The Eagle Nebula, also the Star Queen Nebula lies in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way.
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• Long ago, astronomers looked at pictures of this gas cloud and thought its dark shapes looked like an eagle with its wings spread wide ~ That is how it got its famous nickname!
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• It is located 5,900 light-years away from Earth in a star group called the constellation Serpens Cauda (the Snake’s tail).
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• A large telescope and optimal viewing conditions are necessary to resolve the Pillars of Creation, and large bright nebula containing an open cluster of small stars, mingled with a feeble glow.

• Object Name
  M16

• Object Type
  Emission Nebula
  & Open Cluster

• Constellation
  Serpens Cauda

• Magnitude
  +6.4

• Distance
  5,900 light-years

• Age
  5.5 million years

• Annotated

Telescope:

Mount:

Accessories:

Sky-Watcher Esprint 80ED Triplet

Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT

ZWO ASIair Plus / PixInsight

Camera:

Guiding:

Filter:

ZWO ASI585MC Pro cooling

ZWO ASI1200MM

2″ Optolong eXtreme

• Date:
  Monday 24th August 2026
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• Time:
  21:15 / 9.15 pm (BST)
  

• Moonlit:
  Waxing gibbous 12 days old
  Magnitude: -12.5
  Moonlit: 90%

• Total:
  180’s x 19 subs = 57 minutes

Object :-

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Object :-

Other name :-

Type :-

Magnitude :–

Distance :-
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Constellation :-

Right Ascension :-

Declination :-

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M16

NGC 6611 / Eagle Nebula / Star Queen Nebula

Emission Nebula & Open Cluster

+6.4

5,900 light years / 70 light years across its a longest side.

Ser (Serpens Cauda / The Snake’s tail)

18h 18m 08s

-13° 47′ 12″

Enlarge on click the map.

(Click the map above for a large view.)