Stars are born i M16's EagleNebula, a stellar nursery 7,000 light-years from Earthtoward the constellatio Serpens.The striking nebula' star forming pillars of gas and dust ar familiar to astronomersfrom images at visible wavelengths, bu this false-color pictureshows off the nebula i infrared light.Data from ESA' Infrared Space Observatorysatellite (ISO) was used to construct the detaile twocolor image, dominated by infrared emission fromclouds of interstellar material at temperatures below -100degrees Celsius.Blue colors highlight emission thought to indicate the presence of complexcarbon molecules, known on planet Eart as PAHs, whilered colors trace emission from cold, microscopi dust grains.Hot young stars are formed as this frigid material condenses under theinfluence of gravity.Once begun, the process takes only tens of thousands of years fortruly massive stars and up to tens of millions of years for low massstars like the Sun.
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