The shimmery towers of cosmic dust and gas at the heart of the Eagle Nebula have inspired awe for decades since they were first captured by the Hubble telescope. Now, NASA released the most detailed visualization of the iconic celestial structure, revealing all of its dreamy features across multiple wavelengths of light.
Using data from the Hubble and Webb space telescopes, NASA astrophysicists have weaved together an unprecedented journey across the Pillars of Creation, traveling through the three-dimensional structure and revealing the clouds of dust and embedded stars that make up its finger-like features. The 3D visualization is based on observational data from a paper published in the Meteoritic & Planetary Science journal.
The 2.5-minute-video lets viewers experience the Pillars of Creation in both visible light, as captured by Hubble, as well as infrared light, captured by Webb. “By flying past and amongst the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in the Hubble visible-light view versus the Webb infrared-light view,” Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist who led the movie development team for NASA’s Universe of Learning, said in a statement. “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object.”
The Hubble telescope sees objects that glow in visible light at higher temperatures. Webb’s infrared vision, on the other hand, is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees. As a result, Webb is able to pierce through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars. Hubble views the pillars with dark brown, opaque dust, and bright yellow ionized gas against a greenish-blue background while Webb’s image features orange and orange-brown dust that’s almost transparent with light blue ionized gas against a dark blue background.
The visualization also highlights several stages of star formation. At the top of the central pillar, there’s an embedded, infant protostar glimmering bright red in infrared light. Then, a diagonal jet of material ejected from a newborn star can be seen near the top of the left pillar. The jet indicates that a star is born, although we can’t see the star itself. Finally, a blazing, brand new star shines towards the end of one of the left pillar’s protruding fingers.
The Pillars of Creation stretch across roughly 4 to 5 light-years, a relatively small feature of the massive Eagle Nebula, which spans 70 by 55 light-years. The nebula is located 7,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, but it is so bright that it can be seen by a small telescope. Its pillars, meanwhile, were first made famous by Hubble in 1995 with a stunning debut that remains one of the most iconic astronomical images of all time.
“When we combine observations from NASA’s space telescopes across different wavelengths of light, we broaden our understanding of the universe,” Mark Clampin, director of the astrophysics division at NASA, said in a statement. “The Pillars of Creation region continues to offer us new insights that hone our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich, captivating landscape in a new way.”
