Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optical Images of the Eagle Nebula (M16)
Using Chandra, researchers detected over 1,700 X-ray sources in the field of the Eagle Nebula. Two thirds of these sources are likely young stars located in the Nebula, and some of them are seen in this small field of view around the Pillars of Creation. These images show X-ray data from Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope optical data. The optical image shows the Pillars and a few stars that appear as pink dots. The Chandra data reveal X-rays from young stars, where low, medium, and high-energy X-rays have been colored red, green, and blue.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/M.Guarcello et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI)