Eagle Nebula (M16) Observation Details
M16 Daily Motion
M16 will rise at 02:22, during twilight, and will ascend to 34° by the time twilight ends at 06:26.M16 will be visible until October, 23, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.
M16 Visibility Timetable on March 26
M16 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| Moon Rise, 21.3% illuminated | 05:31 | 29° |
| Moon Set | 15:27 | -30° |
| Astrosession begin | 21:21 | -55° |
| M16 rise | 02:22 | |
| Astrosession end | 05:53 | 31° |
| Civil sunrise | 06:58 | 36° |
| Sunrise | 07:26 | 36° |
| M16 transit | 07:34 | 36° |
| M16 set | 12:45 |
Track M16 Position Throughout the Night
← Wed, 26 March 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M16 - Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula (M16) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Serpens. It was discovered by Jean-Philippe de Chéseaux in 1745-46 and later included in Messier's catalog in 1764. M16 is best known for the Pillars of Creation, a region of active star formation made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The nebula spans about 70 light-years across and is illuminated by a cluster of young, hot stars known as NGC 6611. The Eagle Nebula is approximately 7,000 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.0, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M16 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M16
| Object name | M16 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M16 coordinates | 18.31338, -13.80722 |
| Center coordinates | 18.31338, -13.80722 |
M16 Passage Through Night
Current position of M16
| Time | 23:59 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M16 elevation | -27° |
| M16 Azimuth | -85° |
Annual motion of M16
| Date | Thu, 27 March 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 21:22 |
| Twighlight end | 05:50 |
| Twighlight duration | 8h 29m |
| Rise | 02:18 |
| Set | 12:41 |
| Elevation at transit | 36° |
| Transit time | 07:30 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 18h 18m 48s", Dec: -13° 48' 25s |
| Magnitude | 6 |
| Constellation | Serpens2 |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M16 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.