It's stars versus dust in the Carina Nebula and the stars are winning. More precisely, the energetic light and winds from massive newly formed stars are evaporating and dispersing thedusty stellar nurseriesin which they formed. Located in theCarina Nebulaand known informally asMystic Mountain, these pillar's appearance is dominated by the dark dust even though it is composed mostly of clearhydrogengas. Dust pillars such as these are actually much thinner than air and only appear asmountainsdue to relatively small amounts of opaque interstellardust. About 7,500 light-years distant, the featured image was taken with theHubble Space Telescope, digitally reprocessed by an industrious amateur, and highlights an interior region of Carina which spans about threelight years. Within a few million years, the stars will likely win out completely and the entire dustmountain will be destroyed.