Pillars of Creation
In visible light, the Pillars of Creation appear as towering, opaque columns of cold molecular hydrogen and interstellar dust. These dense clouds block virtually all background starlight. Ultraviolet radiation from nearby massive stars slowly erodes the pillar surfaces through photoevaporation — the glowing finger-like tips mark where ionized gas streams away into space.
Hubble HST
What Are the Pillars of Creation?
Everything you need to know — optimized for quick answers and deep dives alike.
What are the Pillars of Creation?
The Pillars of Creation are towering columns of interstellar gas and dust located in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16), approximately 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens. They measure roughly 4–5 light-years tall — about 40 trillion kilometres — and are famous for being active stellar nurseries where new stars are currently forming inside their dense, opaque cores. First photographed in detail by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, they became one of the most iconic astronomical images ever taken. The James Webb Space Telescope captured new near-infrared and mid-infrared views in 2022, revealing thousands of previously hidden stars within and around the pillars.
Pillars of Creation — Key Facts
At-a-glance data points sourced from NASA, ESA, and peer-reviewed astronomy literature.
Messier 16 (M16), in the constellation Serpens Cauda
Approximately 61.5 quadrillion kilometres (38.2 quadrillion miles)
Roughly 47 trillion km — about 11× the distance to the nearest star
Young stellar objects (YSOs) detected by Webb NIRCam in 2022
Extremely cold interior; surface heated to ~30,000 K by UV radiation
Photoevaporation by hot Trapezium stars will eventually dissolve the pillars
Molecular hydrogen gas (70%) and interstellar silicate/carbon dust grains
Captured by Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)
The pillars occupy only a small corner of M16, a 70 light-year wide H II region
Discovery Timeline
From a blurry 19th-century sketch to Webb’s stunning 2022 infrared portraits — drag to scroll.
How Big Are They, Really?
The numbers are staggering. Here’s how the Pillars of Creation compare to other cosmic and human-scale distances.
The tallest pillar is approximately 5 light-years (47 trillion km) tall. To put that in context:
Light takes 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth. It would take light 5 years to travel the full height of a single pillar — meaning if you shone a flashlight from the base, your great-grandchildren might not live to see it exit the top.
6 Remarkable Things About the Pillars
Beyond the iconic image, the science is even more astonishing.
They May Already Be Gone
Because the pillars are 6,500 light-years away, we’re seeing them as they were 6,500 years ago. Spitzer telescope data hints a supernova shockwave may have already vaporized them — but we won’t know for another ~1,000 years when the light from that event finally reaches us.
Stars Are Born in the Dark
The pillar interiors are so dense that visible light cannot escape — which is precisely why star formation happens inside them. The dust shields collapsing gas from the disruptive radiation of nearby stars, creating protected pockets where gravity can win. Webb’s infrared eyes can finally see inside.
They’re Being Eroded Right Now
Massive O-type stars in the Trapezium Cluster bombard the pillar surfaces with ultraviolet radiation, boiling off gas and dust in a process called photoevaporation. The wispy “fingers” at the pillar tips are streams of evaporating material being driven away at thousands of kilometres per hour.
Webb Revealed 8,000 New Stars
The 1995 Hubble image showed almost no stars — the dust blocked everything. When JWST turned its NIRCam on the same region in 2022, astronomers counted approximately 8,000 previously unknown stars, many still swaddled in protoplanetary disks and actively accreting material.
The EGGs Are Stellar Embryos
The dark fingertip “claws” visible at the top of each pillar are called Evaporating Gaseous Globules — EGGs. Each one is a dense knot of gas being sculpted by radiation, and many contain a protostar at their core. The pillars are essentially incubators for a generation of new solar systems.
A Snapshot Frozen in Time
Every telescope image is a time machine. The light we received in 1995 left the pillars in 4505 BCE — when ancient Egypt was in its early dynastic period. Webb’s 2022 images show the pillars as they looked around 4478 BCE. We are watching a stellar nursery that predates written human civilization.
Hubble vs. James Webb: Same Pillars, Different Universe
Both telescopes have imaged the Pillars — but what each reveals is radically different.
| Feature | Hubble (1995 / 2015) | Webb (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary wavelength | Visible light (380–700 nm) | Near + Mid Infrared (0.6–28 µm) |
| Dust penetration | Near zero — pillars fully opaque | 80–99% — reveals interior stars |
| Stars detected | ~0 (obscured by dust) | ~8,000 (NIRCam) / ~25,000 (MIRI) |
| Pillar appearance | Solid, dramatic blue-green columns | Semi-transparent amber-gold pillars |
| Key instruments | WFPC2 (1995), WFC3 (2015) | NIRCam, MIRI |
| What it shows | Dust structure, pillar morphology, ionized gas surfaces | Protostars, protoplanetary disks, warm dust chemistry |
| Mirror diameter | 2.4 metres | 6.5 metres (7× collecting area) |
| Operating temperature | ~15 °C (room temperature mirrors) | −233 °C (cooled to near absolute zero) |
Frequently Asked Questions
The most-searched questions about the Pillars of Creation, answered clearly.
Are the Pillars of Creation still there?
Almost certainly yes — but we can’t be completely sure. Because the pillars are 6,500 light-years away, we see them as they were 6,500 years ago. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope detected infrared evidence in 2007 suggesting that a supernova shockwave (from a stellar explosion roughly 8,000–9,000 years ago in our timeline) may have already reached and destroyed the pillars. If so, we won’t see that destruction for another ~1,000 years. Most astronomers consider this scenario possible but not confirmed.
Why are they called the Pillars of Creation?
The name was coined by astronomers Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen when they published their 1995 Hubble image. The “creation” refers to star formation — new stars are actively being born inside the dense interior of these pillars. The name was also evocative enough to capture public imagination, and it stuck. The phrase originally appeared in a 19th-century sermon by Charles Spurgeon (“pillars of creation”), which Hester and Scowen may have drawn from.
How far away are the Pillars of Creation?
The Pillars of Creation are located approximately 6,500 light-years from Earth (about 61.5 quadrillion kilometres, or 38.2 quadrillion miles). They are part of the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) in the constellation Serpens Cauda. Some measurements place them slightly closer at about 5,700 light-years; the value of 6,500 light-years is the most widely cited in NASA literature.
What is happening inside the Pillars of Creation?
Inside the pillars, dense pockets of cold molecular hydrogen gas are slowly collapsing under gravity, heating up, and eventually igniting as new protostars and young stars. The pillars’ extreme density (they are opaque even to most UV light) shields the forming stars from the harsh radiation environment around them. Webb’s 2022 NIRCam image revealed hundreds of these young stellar objects — some still surrounded by protoplanetary disks that may one day form planetary systems.
Can you see the Pillars of Creation with a telescope?
You can see the Eagle Nebula (M16) with a modest amateur telescope — it appears as a faint nebulous patch around a star cluster. However, the Pillars of Creation themselves are too small and too faint to be resolved by anything other than a very large professional telescope or space telescope. They span only a few arcminutes in the sky. Even in photographs from amateur telescopes, the pillars require significant image processing and a large aperture (12 inches or more) to hint at their structure.
What do the Pillars of Creation look like in infrared?
In near-infrared (Webb NIRCam), the solid blue-green pillars become semi-transparent amber and brown structures — like frosted glass — filled with thousands of glittering stars that were completely invisible in optical light. In mid-infrared (Webb MIRI), the pillars practically vanish into a ghostly translucent haze, while the surrounding region blazes with warm dust emission and the chemical fingerprints of complex carbon molecules (PAHs). The two views look so different it can be hard to believe they show the same object.