Chandra Observations of the Eagle Nebula: Seeing through the ``Pillars of Creation''
Abstract
The Chandra X-ray Observatory obtained a deep 78-ks image of the young star cluster M 16, also known as NGC 6611 or the Eagle Nebula on 2001 July 30. Over 1,000 X-ray sources were detected in the 17‧x17 ' ACIS-I FOV, making this the densest concentration of X-ray sources observed to date. Most of the X-ray sources are associated with the optically visible, 6-Myr old stars in NGC 6611. Of great interest is the percentage of X-ray luminous B- and A-type stars. In what is perhaps the most famous image obtained by HST, the central portion of the Eagle Nebula shows dark fingers of dust and cold gas (called the ``Pillars of Creation'') being photoionized and photoevaporated by nearby hot stars. Several highly absorbed X-ray sources are spatially coincident with evaporating gaseous globules at the tips of the fingers. This work is supported in part by NASA grant H-04630D to NIST and the University of Colorado.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2001
- Bibcode:
- 2001AAS...199.0408M