A new, even higher definition composite photo of the (7000 light years distant) Eagle Nebula’s ‘Pillars of Creation’ taken by the (since massively upgraded) Hubble telescope, contrasted with a similar image taken by the array back in 1995.
Hubblesite sez of it:
The pillars are bathed in the blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation. Stars are being born deep inside the pillars, which are made of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust. The pillars are part of a small region of the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region 6,500 light-years from Earth.