In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope released images of the “Pillars of Creation” – stunning, frothy clouds of interstellar dust and gas, the place where stars are born.
Now combine data from Hubble and that James Webb Space TelescopeNASA has released a beautiful 3D visualization of cosmic structures in visible and infrared light.
“By flying past and between the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in the Hubble view in visible light than in the Webb view in infrared light,” said Frank Summers, lead visualization scientist. 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,” he continued.
The Pillars of Creation, The pillars, which lie about 5,700 light-years from Earth, are made of cool molecular hydrogen and dust. Due to strong winds and radiation from young, nearby hot stars, the pillars are beginning to lose their contents. Long, finger-like structures larger than our own protrude from the top of the pillars. Solar System.
Within these structures, hydrogen and dust collapse due to gravity to form new, young stars. These new stars will contribute to the further dispersal of matter within the pillars. The highest of the pillars extends over 3 Light years from top to bottom – three quarters of the distance between the Sun and our nearest star.
The newly released video is based on observational data collected as part of a study by Anna McLeod of the University of Durham in England, who also served as scientific advisor for the visualization project.
“By combining observations from NASA space telescopes across different wavelengths of light, we expand our understanding of the universe” said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“The Pillars of Creation region continues to provide us with new insights that refine our understanding of star formation. With this new visualization, everyone can now experience this rich, fascinating landscape in a new way,” added Clampin.
Throughout the visualization, viewers can catch glimpses of stars in various stages of formation. For example, at the top of the central pillar, viewers can see an embedded young protostar that appears bright red in infrared light. Near the top of the left pillar, a diagonal jet of material is being ejected from a newborn star, although viewers cannot see the star itself. And at the end of the “fingers” of the left pillar, viewers can see a bright, newly formed star.
