The shimmering 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 releasing the most detailed visualization of the iconic celestial structure, revealing all its dreamlike features across multiple wavelengths of light.
Using data from the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes, NASA astrophysicists have woven together an unprecedented journey through the Pillars of Creation, traveling through the three-dimensional structure and revealing the dust clouds and embedded stars that make up its signature features. like fingers. 3D visualization is based on observational data from a paper published in Meteoritic and planetary science diary.
The 2.5-minute video allows viewers to experience the Pillars of Creation in both visible light, as captured by Hubble, and infrared light, as captured by Webb. “Flying in front of and between the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look differently in Hubble’s visible light view versus Webb’s infrared light view,” Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist who led the development team of the film. for NASA’s Learning Universe, said 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. On the other hand, Webb’s infrared vision is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of only hundreds of degrees. As a result, Webb is able to penetrate through the dark dust to see the stars embedded in the pillars. Hubble sees the pillars with dark brown, dark dust and bright yellow ionizing gas against a blue-green background, while the Webb image shows orange and orange-brown dust that is almost transparent with light blue ionizing gas on a dark blue background.
The visualization also highlights several stages of star formation. At the top of the central pillar, there is an embedded, baby protostar that glows 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 column. The plane shows that a star has been born, although we cannot see the star itself. Finally, a new blazing star shines toward the end of the protruding fingers of the left pillar.
of Pillars of Creation spans approximately 4 to 5 light years, a relatively small feature of the massive Eagle Nebula, which spans 70 to 55 light years. The nebula is located 7,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens, but is so bright that it can be seen through a small telescope. Her pillars meanwhile were the 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 at different wavelengths of light, we expand our understanding of the universe,” Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said in a statement. “The Pillars of Creation region continues to provide us with new insights that improve our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich, fascinating landscape in a new way.”
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