Eagle nebula. True-colour optical image of the Eagle nebula (M16, NGC 6611) in the constellation Serpens Cauda. This huge cloud of gas and dust, which lies around 6000 light years from Earth, glows pink due to the ionisation of its hydrogen gas by radiation from hot, young stars embedded in it. It is known as the Eagle due to the shape of the prominent dust lane which obscures some of the bright central region. This image was produced by digitally combining photographs taken by the UK Schmidt Telescope in blue and red light.