Located roughly 6,500 to 7,000 light-years from Earth within the Eagle Nebula (M16), the Pillars of Creation are towering columns of cold molecular hydrogen gas and cosmic dust—spanning up to 4 light-years in length—that serve as an active stellar nursery where gravitational collapse births new stars. The intense ultraviolet light and radiation from nearby hot young stars continuously erode these structures through a process called photoevaporation, exposing dense pockets of gas called Evaporating Gaseous Globules (EGGs) containing protostars while guaranteeing the pillars will completely dissolve over the next few million years.