NASA has released a new 3D visualization of the towering celestial structures known as the Pillars of Creation using data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
This is the sequence in multiple wavelengths most complete and detailed to date of these star birth clouds.
The Pillars of Creation, at the heart of the Eagle Nebula, They became famous in 1995 thanks to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and have captured the imagination of the entire world with their ethereal and dazzling beauty.
“By flying alongside and between the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in Hubble’s visible light view compared to Webb’s infrared light view,” the lead scientist explained in a statement. display, Frank Summersof the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, who led the film’s development team for NASA’s Universe of Learning program. “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to look at different aspects of the same object.”
The four pillars of creation, composed mainly of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, are being eroded by strong winds and punishing ultraviolet light from nearby hot, young stars. Finger-like structures larger than the solar system protrude from the top of the pillars. Embryonic stars may be embedded within these fingers. The tallest pillar stretches across three light years, three-quarters of the distance between our sun and the next closest star.
The film takes visitors into the three-dimensional structures of the pillars. Instead of an artistic interpretation, the video is based on observational data from a scientific paper led by Anna McLeod, associate professor at Durham University in the United Kingdom. McLeod also served as a scientific advisor on the film project.
«We always had in mind creating the pillars of 3D creation. The Webb data in combination with the Hubble data allowed us to see the pillars in greater detail,” said the production director Greg Bacon of STScI. “Understanding the science and how to best represent it allowed our small, talented team to rise to the challenge of visualizing this iconic structure.”
The new visualization helps viewers experience how two of the world’s most powerful space telescopes work together to provide a more complex and holistic portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that shine in visible light, at thousands of degrees. Webb’s infrared vision, which is sensitive to colder objects with temperatures of only hundreds of degrees, cuts through the obscuring dust and sees stars embedded in the pillars.
“When we combine observations from NASA space telescopes at different wavelengths of light, we expand our understanding of the universe,” he said. Mark Clampindirector of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The Pillars of Creation region continues to offer us new insights that sharpen our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich and captivating landscape in a new way.”
The visualization highlights several stages of star formation. As viewers approach the central pillar, they see a protostar embedded infant that glows bright red in infrared light. Near the top of the left pillar is a diagonal jet of material ejected from a newborn star. Although the jet is evidence of a star being born, viewers cannot see the star itself. Finally, at the end of one of the “fingers” jutting out from the left pillar is a bright new star.
