M16, located approximately 1,200 light years from Earth, is an especially interesting astronomical object. It shines primarily in emitted light from excited hydrogen gas.  The nebula is in its latter stages of evolution.  Many massive stars condensed out of the great cloud of gas and dust of the original nebula.  These massive stars now radiate large amounts of ultraviolet light.  This radiation excites the surrounding gas which then radiate visible light in the red portion of the spectrum.  The pressure from these stars "blew away" much of the nebula's gas creating a huge cavity in which the stars now shine.  The "fingers" of gas in the middle of the image are much like the formations we see in the deserts of the southwest United States.  It is believed that very dense pockets of dust and gas located at the tips of the columns act as "capstones" protecting the gas below them from the radiation and stellar winds of the massive stars visible in the upper right of the image.  These "fingers" are home to many observed proto-stars and are know as the Pillars of Creation.

This image has been artificially colored during processing with characteristic hydrogen alpha red.