M16: Pillars of Star Creation
Image Credit:
NASA
,
ESA
,
CSA
,
STScI
; Processing:
Diego Pisano
Explanation:
These dark pillars may look destructive, but they are creating stars.
This pillar-capturing picture
of the
Eagle Nebula
combines
visible light
exposures taken with the
Hubble Space Telescope
with
infrared
images taken with the
James Webb Space Telescope
to highlight
evaporating gaseous globules
(EGGs) emerging from
pillars
of molecular
hydrogen gas
and
dust
. The
giant pillars
are
light years
in length and are so dense that interior gas
contracts gravitationally
to form
stars
. At each
pillar's end
, the intense radiation of
bright young
stars causes low density material to boil away, leaving
stellar nurseries
of dense
EGGs
exposed. The
Eagle Nebula
, associated with the
open star cluster
M16
, lies about 7000
light years
away.