Pillars of Creation - James Webb NIRCam Astronomy Shot Glass

A view of The Pillars of Creation taken by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. To the fanciful eye, the pillars of semi-transparent gas and dust almost looks like a praying mantis ready to feast on stars and galaxies. The pillars are regions where young stars are forming – the bright red orbs. When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually begin shining brightly as stars. The Pillars of Creation are to be found in a small region of the Eagle Nebula and are a favorite among astronomers, young and old. Image credit: NASA and STScI