According to Burnham, distance estimates vary widely. 8,000 light years seems to be best. Another of the very finest emission nebulae, rich in details. Sum of 8, 30 second exposures in ST-6 track & accumulate mode. By no means an optimal picture - taken in full moonlight when the object was near the horizon. There were a couple of bits of dirt on the window in front of the CCD chip.
M 16, "Eagle Nebula" NGC 6611
Messier Catalog Home