Hubble Spies Cosmic Pillar in Eagle Nebula

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A tall, thin structure of dark gas clouds. This pillar is darker and broader at its base, thins toward the middle, and broadens out again at the top, with spikes, fingers, and wisps of gas protruding in all directions from its head. Some parts of the pillar are illuminated, but most are dark and silhouetted at the edges and lit from behind. A wall of colorful gas lies behind the pillar, bluish at the top and redder toward the bottom, with several blue and gold stars scattered across it.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll

This newly reprocessed image released on April 18, 2025, provides a new view of an enormous, 9.5-light-year-tall pillar of cold gas and dust. Despite its size, it’s just one small piece of the greater Eagle Nebula, also called Messier 16.

The Eagle Nebula is one of many nebulae in the Milky Way that are known for their sculpted, dusty clouds. Nebulae take on these fantastic shapes when exposed to powerful radiation and winds from infant stars. Regions with denser gas are more able to withstand the onslaught of radiation and stellar winds from young stars, and these dense areas remain as dusty sculptures like the starry pillar shown here.

Download this image.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll

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