The route / Pillars of Creation
Sector 10 · Star-forming columns
Pillars of Creation
Columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, each light-years tall, where new stars form.
The Pillars of Creation are towering columns of cold gas and dust inside the Eagle Nebula, Messier 16. The tallest is about four light-years long. Hot young stars nearby are slowly eroding them with their light and wind.
The Hubble Space Telescope made them famous in 1995, photographed them again in 2014, and the James Webb Space Telescope captured them in infrared in 2022, revealing young stars forming inside the columns.
Key facts
- Distance
- About 6,500 to 7,000 light-years
- Found in
- The Eagle Nebula, Messier 16
- Tallest pillar
- About 4 light-years
- Famous images
- Hubble 1995 and 2014, Webb 2022
Pillars of Creation in Comet Courier
The Pillars sector shows three rim-lit columns rising out of glowing gas, with young stars sparkling at their tips.