The light of the surrounding stars, some just stellar infants, stands out in this infrared view. In the more iconic visible-light shots of The Pillars of Creation, however, the stars are far and few between, as they are largely veiled by dust.
By looking at the Pillars of Creation in a different light, the stars that are normally hidden suddenly pop. This is especially true for the bright, young stars at the top of the pillars, which were largely veiled in Hubble's visible-light shot. The infrared view also highlights where the cosmic gas and dust are extremely thick, still managing to mask the dust-penetrating infrared light emitted from stars within.