Pillars of Creation

The pillars are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust where new stars form.

It showed the “What about those wavy lines that look like lava at the edges of some pillars? [Hubble Space Telescope](https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2022/07/16/james-webb-space-telescope-takes-a-striking-image-of-jupiter/), which spotted GN-z11, a galaxy that was formed 400 million years after the birth of the universe. [James Webb Space Telescope](https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2022/07/13/james-webb-space-telescope-will-transform-our-understanding-of-the-universe/) shows the “Pillars of Creation” in remarkable detail. This star-forming region is known as the Pillars of Creation, and shows a small region of the Eagle Nebula. [space](https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/science/2022/08/23/james-webb-telescope-captures-remarkable-views-of-jupiter/) also shows new stars forming within these dense clouds of gas and dust.

Legendary for their beauty, the towering pillars of gas and dust are a nursery of newborn stars that's been slowly destroying itself for millions of years.

But beyond the surface-level beauty, the image also reveals a hidden multitude of never-before-seen, newly-formed stars in and around the gas clouds. Located in the Eagle Nebula about 6,500 light-years from Earth, the pillars became world famous in 1995 after the Hubble Space Telescope first revealed their beauty. [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) and the [European Space Agency](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_takes_a_stunning_star-filled_portrait_of_the_Pillars_of_Creation) on Oct.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured sparkling newborn stars in a cosmic site 6500 miles known as the "Pillars of Creation."

[puzzling astronomers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/08/26/webb-telescope-space-jupiter-galaxy/?itid=lk_inline_manual_17). history.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/13/nasa-james-webb-telescope-name-controversy/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_16) The $10 billion telescope, which launched last Christmas day, is a joint effort with the European and Canadian space agencies. “See those wavy lines that look like lava at the edges of the pillars? [said](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) Wednesday. [NASA](https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1582773836915048448) put it.

Few Hubble images are as iconic as the Pillars of Creation, towering structures of interstellar gas in the Eagle Nebula. After first imaging the pillars in ...

You can see that demonstrated in the comparison image above — this is exactly the kind of observation Webb was designed for. NASA says that studying objects like the Pillars of Creation with Webb will aid in revamping our models of star formation. The pillars are just one small part of the nebula, but the largest of the three is about four light-years tall. Few Hubble images are as iconic as the Pillars of Creation, towering structures of interstellar gas in the Eagle Nebula. This is also the cause of the red glow of energized hydrogen molecules seen in several locations, for example, the top of the middle pillar. Webb shows the Pillars of Creation in unprecedented detail, revealing never-before-seen details that astronomers believe could help improve our understanding of stellar formation.

James Webb Telescope Revisits the Pillars of Creation for Stunning Image Update: Last captured in 2014 by the Hubble Telescope.

Located in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) in the Serpens constellation, the massive star-forming gas and dust region named the Pillars of Creation now reveals greater detail thanks to the James Webb [Space](https://hypebeast.com/tags/space) Telescope’s near-infrared camera. The most left pillar stretches four light years in length alone — to put that into perspective, the tiny finger-like jets protruding from the main body are larger than our Solar System. [NASA](https://hypebeast.com/tags/nasa)‘s [James Webb Space Telescope](https://hypebeast.com/tags/james-webb-telescope).

NASA has posted images of 'pillars of creation' clicked by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These 'pillars' are huge structures of gas and dust that are ...

The pillars were first captured by Hubble Space Telescope, humanity's original 'eye-in-the-sky'. NASA has posted images of 'pillars of creation' clicked by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). But James Webb Space Telescope has peered through the opacity of the pillars

A new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope gives a new glimpse at the iconic Pillars of Creation, an area 6500 light-years away that was made ...

Young stars periodically shoot out jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust,” according to a “Along the edges of the pillars are wavy lines that look like lava. The ESA William Herschel Telescope, for example, has also captured an image of the distinctive area of star birth, and Hubble created its own followup image in 2014. “Newly formed protostars are the scene-stealers,” reads a news release from the European Space Agency. [ Mars,](http://cnn.com/2022/09/19/world/webb-telescope-mars-image-scn/index.html) [Jupiter](http://cnn.com/2022/08/22/world/jupiter-images-webb-telescope-nasa-scn/index.html) and [Neptune](http://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/world/neptune-james-webb-space-telescope-new-images-scn/index.html). [ through some of the dusty plumes](https://esawebb.org/images/weic2216d/) to reveal more infant stars that glow bright red.

The James Webb Telescope's near-infrared camera captured the Pillars of Creation in a way they've never seen before.

NASA hopes that studying the Pillars of Creation will give them a better understanding of how stars are formed. The James Webb Telescope’s near-infrared camera captured the Pillars of Creation in a way they’ve never seen before. [NASA’s Webb Telescope](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) has captured a jaw-dropping image of the iconic Pillars of Creation.

The world was first mesmerized by the stellar view of cosmic pillars in 1995 thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, almost three decades later, ...

The James Webb Telescope's near-infrared camera captured the Pillars of Creation in a way they've never seen before.

NASA hopes that studying the Pillars of Creation will give them a better understanding of how stars are formed. The James Webb Telescope’s near-infrared camera captured the Pillars of Creation in a way they’ve never seen before. [NASA’s Webb Telescope](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) has captured a jaw-dropping image of the iconic Pillars of Creation.

The Webb telescope was able to take this new photo by using infrared detectors to see beyond most of the light-scattering effects caused by the pillars' dust.

Due to the pillars being 6,500 light-years away, they would most likely no longer be present at the location, as the photo was taken by viewing the pillars in the past. The pillars are illuminated and sculpted by intense ultraviolet light coming from massive stars in close proximity to them. The Webb telescope was able to take this new photo by using infrared detectors to see beyond most of the light-scattering effects caused by the pillars' dust.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured NASA's most detailed image of the Pillars of Creation that is helping scientists better understand how stars ...

[Klaus Pontoppidan,](https://www.stsci.edu/~pontoppi/#about) a project scientist working on the James Webb, [wrote](https://twitter.com/pontoppi/status/1582745751318253569) on Twitter that the team wanted to capture the Pillars of Creation using the new space telescope after seeing popular demand for it. "This image was taken in exactly the same way as the cosmic cliffs, and covers an area the same size on the sky." "The nebula, M16, is located right in the plane of the Milky Way; there are just so many stars!" Now, the new James Webb Space Telescope has captured NASA's most detailed image of the landscape that is helping scientists better understand how stars form. [ optimized to see near- and mid-infrared light](https://www.npr.org/2021/09/16/1036600340/nasa-is-launching-a-new-telescope-that-could-offer-some-cosmic-eye-candy) invisible to people, allowing it to peer through dust that can obscure stars and other objects in Hubble images. While James Webb's infrared eyes were [not able to pierce through](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation) a mix of gas and dust in the Pillars of Creation, its new view will help scientists identify more precise counts of newly formed stars, and the amount of gas and dust in the region.

The haunting, finger-like shapes are part of the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region located some 6500 light-years away.

But it wasn’t until [1995](https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1995/44/351-Image.html), when the [Hubble Space Telescope](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html) photographed the nebula’s awe-inspiring, finger-like section and shared it with the masses, that the Pillars of Creation became famous. Bright red orbs floating within the mass of gas and dust, meanwhile, pinpoint the locations of newly born stars (the space agency [recommends zooming in](https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1582736013155246081?s=20&t=_FfolTzBaBRb8X8MYbEu_g) to see them). The region is “practically overflowing with stars,” per NASA, and Webb’s new image will help scientists get a more accurate count of those that have recently formed. [Near-Infrared Camera](https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/nircam.html) (NIRCam), shows the Pillars of Creation in strikingly crisp detail. [stars](https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve) sparkle against the deep blackish-blue backdrop of space. [Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux](https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/jean-philippe-loys-de-cheseaux/m02rb43?hl=en) first discovered the Eagle Nebula in 1745. Periodically, those young stars discharge jets that collide with the pillars’ dust and gas, creating wavy But finally, the James Webb Space Telescope has turned its attention toward one of the most iconic celestial bodies in the universe: the Pillars of Creation. The Pillars of Creation region, meanwhile, measures roughly 5 light-years long. [spooky spiral galaxies](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-eerily-beautiful-image-james-webb-captured-of-a-spiral-galaxy-180980853/), the rings and moons of [Neptune](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/webb-telescopes-images-of-neptune-showcase-its-rings-and-moons-180980820/) and the creepy-crawly [Tarantula Nebula](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/james-webb-space-telescope-snaps-spectacular-new-photos-of-the-tarantula-nebula-180980716/). [Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/webb-telescope-pillars-of-creation-1849676900), Webb’s capture makes it easy to see “Michelangelo’s famous Creation of Adam evoked by the reach of the massive pillars.” The dust-filled plumes are a rusty orange-brown, like “arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape,” wrote [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-takes-star-filled-portrait-of-pillars-of-creation), which is collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on the Webb project.

The "Pillars of Creation," an area of intense star formation, as seen by the Near-Infrared Camera of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI. NASA's most eagle-eyed observatory yet has ...

This region of the universe first achieved fame in 1995 when it was imaged by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Don't confuse these with the deep red, magma-like areas along the inside perimeter of a few of the pillars. The ethereal scene captures translucent columns of cool interstellar gas and dust punctuated by piercing, bright points of light.

NASA's Webb Space Telescope returns photos of the iconic towers of dust and gas where stars are born.

Newly forming stars periodically shoot out supersonic jets of gas and dust that collide with clouds in the neighborhood and create bow shocks — wavy patterns like a boat makes as it moves through water. In visible light the pillars hide the newly forming suns, but infrared light shines through the dust, revealing stars forming within their nooks and crannies. Many of the brightest stars in the photo have burst free of the pillars and shine unimpeded, while others glow like hot, red coals inside them. The pillars are immense towers carved out of the nebula's cold dust by high-energy radiation emitted by the roughly 8,000 young stars in the cluster. When knots of material with sufficient mass gather within the nebula they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars. It consists of a central star cluster of bright, newly formed suns that illuminates a cloud of gas and dust.

The Pillars of Creation is one of the iconic images from the Hubble Space Telescope. 27 years later, the Webb space telescope has given this image a ...

These are ejections from stars that are still forming within the gas and dust. Instead, a mix of translucent gas and dust known as the When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars of gas and dust, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars. These are the bright red orbs that typically have diffraction spikes and lie outside one of the dusty pillars. Over time, they will begin to build a clearer understanding of how stars form and burst out of these dusty clouds over millions of years. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light.