Eagle Nebula M16

This image of the Eagle Nebula, M16, was taken in November 2004 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

It shows a billowing tower of cold gas and dust, 9.5 light-years high, rising from a stellar nursery. Stars in the Eagle Nebula are born in these clouds of cold hydrogen gas, and the tower may be a giant 'incubator''for those newborn stars.