APOD: 2024 October 22 Б M16: Pillars of Star Creation
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.
Jigsaw Challenge:
Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
