M16: the Eagle nebula in Sagittarius

A diffuse HII region, some of whose light is blocked by dark interstellar dust clouds.

Images taken: T. Torma, Sept. 18, 2007. Hazy weather.

Telescope: Meade 12 in at f/5.71 (f=70 in).

Image size: 20 am x 30 am; resampled at 1 as/pix; North is up.

Camera: SBIG ST-10 CCD camera

Exposures: 20 min [OIII] 500 nm, 20 min [SII] 680 nm, 10 min H-alpha filters, each with 6 nm bandwidth.

The same color filters as the Hubble Space Telescope used to take the famous "Pillars of Creation" image.

Image processing: CCDoops + CCDSoft + Photoshop CS.