About 7,000 light years from Earth, this star cluster and the nebula associated with it are an active star-forming region covering an area of about 55 by 70 light years. The star cluster was discovered in 1745 by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, and independently rediscovered in 1764 by Charles Messier, who also noted that the stars were "enmeshed in a faint glow", the earliest reference to the Eagle Nebula that surrounds the cluster.

A famous 1995 photograph of the bright central region of the nebula by the Hubble Space Telescope has led to that area of dust and gas, with its clouds resembling elephant trunks, being called "the pillars of creation".

This photo is a composite of 78 images taken with a digital SLR camera on the nights of 24-Jun-2008, 26-Jun-2008, 30-Jun-2008, 1-Jul-2008, 2-Jul-2008. Total exposure time is 6 hours and 30 minutes.