M16: Pillars of Creation
It has become one of the most famous images of modern times. This image , taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, shows 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 pillars' 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. The pillars of creation were imaged recently by the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory , and it was found that most EGGS are not strong emitters of X-rays .