Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. 2014 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image showing dark pillars of dense molecular hydrogen and dust in the Eagl
Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. 2014 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image showing dark pillars of dense molecular hydrogen and dust in the Eagle Nebula (M16). Ultraviolet light from young stars (out of frame) evaporates gas from the one light-year-long pillars, creating the halo-like effect. The small protrusions on the pillars contain globules of even denser gas which are embryonic stars; these have been dubbed Evaporating Gaseous Globules, or EGGs. The evaporation of the pillar limits the amount of gas and dust which these embryonic stars can gather. The Eagle Nebula is about 7000 light years from Earth, in the constellation Serpens. This iconic image was first obtained in 1995 (see image C032/1712) and was titled 'Pillars of Creation'. This updated image was obtained in 2014 using the HST's Wide Field Camera 3.
Size: 5183px × 5406px
Photo credit: © NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 2010s, 2014, 21st, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, awe, awesome, birth, century, creation, eagle, elephant, evolution, formation, gas, gaseous, globule, hst, hubble, m16, nebula, optical, pillar, pillars, region, serpens, space, star, starbirth, stellar, telescope, trunks, universe, uvis, visible, wfc3
