Eagle Nebula (M16) Observation Details
M16 Daily Motion
Tonight, observing M16 may prove challenging owing to its low elevation. It will reach its transit at by 11:48 and set before sunset at 17:00. Rising near twilight's end at 06:33, it will fade away by 06:49, peaking at just 3° above the horizon.M16 will become visible in March, 5. After being too close to the Sun to observe, it will reappear in the night sky. Starting from March, 5, M16 can be seen again, providing a good opportunity for observation.
M16 Visibility Timetable on January 05
Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| Moon Rise, 35.4% illuminated | 11:21 | 36° |
| M16 transit | 11:48 | 36° |
| M16 set | 17:00 | |
| Astrosession begin | 18:58 | -22° |
| Moon Set | 23:57 | -64° |
| Astrosession end | 06:17 | -3° |
| M16 rise | 06:33 | |
| Civil sunrise | 07:23 | 9° |
| Sunrise | 07:55 | 14° |
Track M16 Position Throughout the Night
← Sun, 5 January 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 | 09:36 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M16 elevation | 28° |
| M16 Azimuth | -143° |
Annual motion of M16
| Date | Mon, 6 January 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 18:54 |
| Twighlight end | 06:11 |
| Twighlight duration | 11h 17m |
| Rise | 06:33 |
| Set | 16:56 |
| Elevation at transit | 36° |
| Transit time | 11:44 |
| Equatorial coordinate | 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.