'Elephant trunks' in space
Monday, March 7, 2011 - 08:02
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, captured this image of a star-forming cloud of dust and gas, called Sh2-284, located in the constellation of Monoceros. Lining up along the edges of a cosmic hole are several "elephant trunks" -- or monstrous pillars of dense gas and dust.