Elephant trunk (astronomy)

Astronomers study elephant trunks because of their unique formation process and use 2-D and 3-D simulations to try to understand how this phenomenon occurs.

[2] The UV radiation causes the surrounding cloud of hydrogen gas to ionize, forming H II regions.

These dense clumps are called evaporating gaseous globules (EGGs), and they are the starting point for the formation of an elephant trunk.

At visible light wavelengths, astronomers can only study the structure of the surface of the trunks because the opacity of the gas obscures the internal core.

Astronomers have made observations suggesting that the Pillars were possibly destroyed by the shock waves of a supernova 6,000 years ago.