Messier 46 [SEP] constellation
Messier 46
Messier 46 or M46, also known as NGC 2437, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Dreyer described it as "very bright, very rich, very large." M46 is about 4,920 light-years away. There are an estimated 500 stars in the cluster with a combined mass of , and it is thought to be some 251.2 million years old.
The cluster has a tidal radius of and a core radius of .
Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611, and also known as the Star Queen Nebula and The Spire) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Chéseaux in 1745–46. Both the "Eagle" and the "Star Queen" refer to visual impressions of the dark silhouette near the center of the nebula, an area made famous as the "Pillars of Creation" imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula contains