 Here's a 1995 Hubble view of the Eagle Nebula, a 20 light-years-wide star-forming region 6,500 light-years away. Inside the Eagle there are a number of spectacular pillar-like formations. These dark structures are columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust, where new stars are forming. Here we are homing in on a particularly interesting set, appropriately named the Pillars of Creation. This is the Hubble view from 2015. The tallest pillar is about four light-years long from base to tip. The visible light from stars inside the brown clouds cannot be seen because of the thick dust. The blue background comes from less dense clouds, which are obscuring many of the stars in the overall region. Here's Webb's near-infrared view, taken in 2022. At infrared wavelengths, star light can penetrate pillar dust and enable us to see the stars inside and behind the dust. When knots with sufficient mass form, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars. The wavy structures at the surface of some pillars are the ejected material from these stars. Note the crimson glow near the peaks of the second and third pillars. This comes from energetic hydrogen molecules streaming from new stars. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old. Webb's new view of the Pillars of Creation will help researchers revamp models of star formation by identifying far more precise star populations, along with the quantities of gas and dust in the region. With this information, they will begin to build a clearer understanding of how stars form over millions of years.