Allegory of the Eagle Nebula (Foraxx)

About seven thousand light-years away, in the constellation of Serpens, the Eagle Nebula is one of the best-known stellar nurseries in the sky. At its center lies the young star cluster NGC 6611, whose massive, hot stars flood the surrounding gas with ultraviolet light, making the nebula glow. That same radiation has also sculpted the famous Pillars of Creation, towering columns of gas and dust made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope, along with countless smaller clouds where new stars are still taking shape.

Looking at this image reminds me a little of Plato’s cave. The stars still forming deep inside the pillars remain hidden from us. What we see instead are the shadows they leave behind: the dark columns and dusty shapes standing out against the glowing gas. From those shadows, we try to imagine the hidden light that created them.