Three Nebulae: Sharpless 2-54, Eagle Nebula, Omega Nebula | ESO

Three Nebulae: Sharpless 2-54, Eagle Nebula, Omega Nebula | ESO

Three spectacular nebulae in one image

Two of the sky’s more famous residents share the stage with a lesser-known neighbor in this enormous three gigapixel image from the European Southern Observatory’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST). On the right lies the faint, glowing cloud of gas called Sharpless 2-54, the iconic Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) is in the center, and the Omega Nebula (Messier 17) 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.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: June 14, 2017

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