Eagle Nebula
Where is the Eagle Nebula?
Look southwest, about 20° up at 20:20 in Serpens. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 23:14.
- Rises
- 13:32
- Highest
- 18:23
- Sets
- 23:14
- Best after dark
- 20:20 · 20°
Can I see the Eagle Nebula tonight?
From London tonight, the Eagle Nebula is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:20, in the southwest at 20°.
At magnitude 6.0, with its light spread out, it needs binoculars and a dark sky.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does the Eagle Nebula look like?
Eyes
Not visible.
Binoculars
A small hazy patch with a few stars.
Telescope
The star cluster is easy; the surrounding nebula is faint. Dark skies and a nebula filter help. The Pillars of Creation are very difficult visually and are really a photographic target.
About the Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula is a star-forming cloud in Serpens with a young star cluster at its heart. Its distance is estimated at about 5,700–7,000 light-years.
It is famous for the Pillars of Creation, towering columns of cold gas and dust photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and again by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022.
The pillars are being slowly eroded by the light of nearby hot stars, while new stars form inside them.
The star cluster was discovered in the 1740s, and Messier noticed the surrounding glow in 1764. The cluster is only one or two million years old.
The tallest of the Pillars of Creation is about four light-years long. At their tips are small, dense knots of gas where new stars may be forming.
The Eagle is well placed on summer evenings from mid-northern latitudes, in a rich part of the Milky Way that also holds M17, M18 and M24.
Nearby in the sky
Questions
Can I see the Pillars of Creation in a telescope?
Sources: OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences