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?
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Big things seem to move slowly. Have you ever watched a cloud that stays in the shape of a teddy-bear or a dragon’s head, and it doesn’t seem to change shape for a few whole minutes? Winds up high are moving as fast, or faster than our cars, but it still takes a while for them to shift the cloud enough to make it look different.
Now remember that the pillars of creation are clouds in space bigger than whole planets and even solar systems. Even if they were pushed by winds the speed of light, they would take 4-5 YEARS to be entirely smooshed. Any solar winds, gravity, and other forces on them are pushing their parts MUCH slower.
So us watching them for many human lifetimes is like watching that Teddy-bear cloud for just a fraction of a second, just a quick blink of time.
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