The Eagle Nebula (M16) is an emission nebula in the constellation Serpens. It's 7,000 light-years away and doesn't even know I photographed it last night. Catching M16 photons in the sky is like catching tadpoles in the ocean, but with a harpoon instead of a fishing rod. The conditions are similar to city light pollution, streetlights in complete calm, and harmony all around. Within the Eagle Nebula lies a well-known region of active star formation—the Pillars of Creation. These are Hispanic gas and dust clumps of matter in which new worlds are born (you can even see...