VST captures Eagle Nebula and close companions
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 - 11:32
in Astronomy & Space
Two of the sky's more famous residents share the stage with a lesser-known neighbor in an enormous new three gigapixel image from ESO's VLT Survey Telescope (VST). On the right lies Sharpless 2-54, the iconic Eagle Nebula is in the center, and the Omega Nebula to the left. This cosmic trio makes up just a portion of a vast complex of gas and dust within which new stars are springing to life and illuminating their surroundings.