Hubble wows with incredible revisit to iconic 'Pillars of Creation'
The Eagle Nebula's Pillars of Creation. Credit: Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University), and NASA/ESA
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 8:58 AM - Above is one of the most iconic visions in all of astronomy - columns of interstellar hydrogen gas, embedded with newly-formed stars, known as the Pillars of Creation - taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, just five years after it launched into orbit.
According to SpaceTelescope.org, the ESA's portal for Hubble news and discoveries,
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| The Hubble image of the pillars taken in 1995 is so popular that it has appeared in film and television, on tee-shirts and pillows, and even on postage stamps. |
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Now, in 2015, as we approach Hubble's 25th anniversary, the telescope has turned its gaze back upon the Eagle Nebula to capture this iconic view again, to show off how much of a difference 20 years makes for Hubble's capabilities.
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team
The results, shown above, were snapped by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which was installed a little over 5 years ago, to give the telescope not only a wider field of view, but also allows it to see a wider range of wavelengths.
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According to the press release:
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| Although the original image was dubbed the "Pillars of Creation", this new image hints that they are also pillars of destruction. The dust and gas in these pillars is seared by intense radiation from the young stars forming within them, and eroded by strong winds from massive nearby stars. The ghostly bluish haze around the dense edges of the pillars in the visible-light view is material that is being heated by bright young stars and evaporating away.
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Hubble demonstrated the capabilities of the WFC3 as well, in this updated look at the Pillars, by also capturing the same image in infrared wavelengths. Below is a comparison of the two (adjust the position of the slide-bar by clicking, holding, and moving it manually, or click on the image to have it slide automatically to that position).
As seen above, infrared wavelengths penetrate straight through the majority of the gas clouds, revealing the vibrant field of stars 'behind' the Pillars, while still giving a dark wisp of the densest parts of the structure to make the direct comparison more dramatic.
These images were released on January 5, at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, taking place this week in Seattle, Washington. With nearly four months to go before we celebrate Hubble's 25th anniversary (on April 24), this will - no doubt - be the first in a long line of incredible images we're treated to along the way.
