Not the famous ones in the Eagle Nebula, but still areas where stars are being created. These cold molecular pillars, generically known as elephant trunks, are areas of cold, dense gas, often associated with star formation. Research suggests they rotate, over periods of a few million years, as a semi-rigid structure, causing them to twist and change shape over time.
I thought I’d gather some closeups of them together from my recent images. The Pelican and Elephant Trunk nebulae are areas that I study along with the Hunting Outbursting Young Stars (HOYS) Project.