Listening to the Eagle Nebula Pillars in Space
Beyond EarthFrom: NASA · rewritten for kids by Osmo
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The Eagle Nebula, also known as M16, is a nebula about 6,500 light-years from Earth. It contains enormous pillars of gas and dust shaped by ultraviolet light and stellar winds from nearby massive stars. These pillars host star formation, similar to how our Sun was formed. Scientists combined visible light images from Hubble and X-ray images from Chandra and turned this data into sound, called sonification, where vertical position changes pitch. Listening to such sonified data gives us a new way to explore stellar environments.
Big word
nebula: A big cloud of gas and dust in space where stars can form.
Quiz time: circle the right answer
1. What are the tall pillars in the Eagle Nebula made of?AGas and dustBWater and iceCRocks and metal
2. How far away is the Eagle Nebula?A6,500 milesB6,500 light-yearsC6,500 kilometers
3. What tools did scientists use to make the sounds from the Eagle Nebula?AHubble and Chandra telescopesBMicroscopes and radiosCBinoculars and cameras
Your turn
Draw your own nebula with tall pillars of gas and dust. Use colors to show where new stars might be forming inside your nebula.
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