This tall pillar of gas and dust is part of the Eagle Nebula, located 7000 light-years from Earth. It's made of cold hydrogen gas where new stars are forming.
These hot young stars emit powerful light and winds that sculpt the surrounding gas into fantastic shapes like this pillar with a bulbous head. The blue glow comes from ionized oxygen, red from hydrogen, and orange from starlight breaking through the dust. Eventually, radiation from nearby stars will erode this pillar completely, but for now it stands as an impressive cosmic sculpture.
This image was captured by Hubble as part of its 35th anniversary celebrations using new processing techniques.