Eli5: how do the pillars of creation just stay the same shape out in space for so long and how did it all accumulate in that area?

Question

Eli5: how do the pillars of creation just stay the same shape out in space for so long and how did it all accumulate in that area?

In: 7284

Answer 1

The planets don’t seem to be moving, unless you watch for weeks or months. I imagine it’s the same thing with the Pillars of Creation, but now on the scale of perhaps thousands or millions of years, since they’re so much bigger than just our solar system