                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 October 22
   Three large interstellar dust pillars are shown against a starfield and
   a multicolored glowing background. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                        M16: Pillars of Star Creation
        Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Processing: Diego Pisano

   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
                      Tomorrow's picture: rocket catch
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

