How to photograph the Eagle Nebula (M16)
Home of the Pillars of Creation, made famous by Hubble.
Photo byESO(CC BY 4.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Eagle Nebula
The Eagle is a cluster embedded in glowing hydrogen, with the dark Pillars of Creation at its heart. A 400mm scope shows the pillars, and more focal length shows their shape.
Gear and framing
The Eagle Nebula spans about 35′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Small refractor (250-600mm)
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III light. A dual-band filter, or separate narrowband filters with a mono camera, lets that light through and blocks most light pollution and moonlight. It is a good choice for city skies and for nights with the Moon up.
Tips
- A dual-band or hydrogen-alpha filter makes the pillars stand out sharply.
- It frames well with the Omega Nebula (M17) at 200-300mm.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.