NASA James Webb Space Telescope takes new images of Pillars of Creation

The image highlights the vast clouds that make up the titular "pillars," and are a far more enhanced image of the cosmic object.

 The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing.  (photo credit: NASA)
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing.
(photo credit: NASA)

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning new picture of one of the most famous space images of all, the Pillars of Creation.

The image highlights the vast clouds that make up the titular "pillars" and is a far more enhanced image of the cosmic object compared to what the Hubble Space Telescope first captured in 1995.

What are the Pillars of Creation?

The Pillars of Creation are a type of elephant trunks (also known as cold molecular pillars) found in the Eagle Nebula, around 7,000 light years away from Earth.

This type of formation is formed by intense radiation creating H II regions, which are large areas of ionized gas.

Essentially, these pillars are inside a molecular cloud where stars were recently formed which is what the Eagle Nebula is famously known for.

 NASA's Hubble Space Telescope made the Pillars of Creation famous with its first image in 1995, but revisited the scene in 2014 (L) to reveal a sharper, wider view in visible light. A new, near-infrared-light view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (R) helps us peer through more of the dust. (credit: NASA)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope made the Pillars of Creation famous with its first image in 1995, but revisited the scene in 2014 (L) to reveal a sharper, wider view in visible light. A new, near-infrared-light view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (R) helps us peer through more of the dust. (credit: NASA)

The Pillars of Heaven consist of three "pillars" like this, the longest of which is around four light-years long. 

It was first captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and instantly became famous due to its stunning imagery, and it was later revisited in a higher-resolution format in 2014. 

It is easily one of the single most famous and impactful images the Hubble Space Telescope has ever taken and remains to many a symbol of the infinite wonders of the cosmos.

But when NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope, which was equipped with far superior equipment and tools, it had the opportunity to revisit this famous cosmic landmark and get a better look at it.


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Taking full advantage of the James Webb Space Telescope's capabilities, NASA took several new images, each by using some of the different tools at its disposal. This highlights the stellar background and the vast clouds of interstellar gas and dust, where new stars will form.

The result is absolutely stunning and is only the latest new breathtaking image of the great and wonderful mysteries of the cosmos that the James Webb Space Telescope will help us explore.