By Dean Murray via SWNS
Scientists have unveiled a jaw-dropping new visualization of the Pillars of Creation space formation.
Made famous in 1995 by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the form in the heart of the Eagle Nebula has captured imaginations worldwide with its ethereal beauty.
Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of the towering celestial structures using data from NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
They say it is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie yet of these star-birthing clouds.
“By flying past and amongst the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in the Hubble visible-light view versus the Webb infrared-light view,” explained principal visualization scientist Frank Summers of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, who led the movie development team for NASA’s Universe of Learning. “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object.”
NASA says 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 glow in visible light, at thousands of degrees. Webb’s infrared vision, which is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees, pierces through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.
“When we combine observations from NASA’s space telescopes across different wavelengths of light, we broaden our understanding of the universe,” said Mark Clampin, Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The Pillars of Creation region continues to offer us new insights that hone our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich, captivating landscape in a new way.”
