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Unveiling the Mysteries of Nebulae and the Pillars of Creation

Few things are as dazzling and cryptic as nebulae within the confines of space. These gigantic clouds of dust and gas are frequently the remains of stars, or sometimes where stars are born, and have long held the interest of not only astronomers but also the public. The famous Helix Nebula represents not only a beautiful cosmic phenomenon but is also very important for our understanding of star formation.

Nebulae are comprised mostly of hydrogen and helium, with dust and gases spread out over huge distances. In this material, gravitational force is surprisingly great and in due course causes the particles to bunch together in clumps that are soon compressed, heating their cores to the point of ignition, to become a star. But it is in these so-often-invoked stellar nurseries that the magic of star formation occurs.

Among those haunting pictures of a nebula is the Helix Nebula, the closest of its kind to Earth, lying some 700 light-years far out in space. It is a celestial wonder, which, if a thing is traveling on its way through at the speed of light, it would take 700 years to reach it. Bringing these far-away nebulae to our proximity to allow us views of complex processes happening within them, astronomers must rely on instruments such as NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes.

The Eagle Nebula is one of the most popular nebulae in the world and one of the most breathtaking things in space: the Pillars of Creation. Known to the global public since 1995, through the eye of the Hubble Space Telescope, the silhouettes are enthralled by their shapes. Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of the Pillars, using both the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to create that visualization. This view is the most magnificent and intricate of star-forming clouds yet captured.

Frank Summers is a principal visualization scientist at the Institute of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. He described the new visualization as transformative in that it gives viewers a 3-D feel for the structure of the pillars and a stark contrast between the view of the galaxies that they get from Hubble’s visible-light view and that of the view in the infrared from Webb.

The Pillars of Creation are made up mostly of cold molecular hydrogen and dust and are being eroded by the powerful winds and ultraviolet radiation of local hot stars. Often, these pillars give birth to finger-like projections with embryonic stars, and some stretch 3 light-years in length. The stereo gives the 3-D view from observation in the project that Anna McLeod of the University of Durham undertook. It gave a very great view of these celestial structures.

Greg Bacon, who led the production of the visualization for STScI, said, “Without the new data from Webb and Hubble combined, we wouldn’t have gotten such a complete, detailed picture of the Pillars. This collaboration of two of humanity’s most powerful space telescopes gives an unparalleled view into the star formation and dynamic processes in action within nebulae.”.

By merging the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelength observations, “we see yet more of the cosmos,” said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “The Pillars of Creation is one of the most recognized images in astronomy and a great example of how Hubble has expanded our vision and continues to push new ground. This new visualization of the Pillars made using all three color filters on Hubble serves to bring this majestic astrophysical landscape to an audience in a new way.”.

The 3D printout was visualized at STScI in collaboration with Caltech/IPAC, using data from NASA’s Universe of Learning. This 3D model is part of a longer video with a narrative intended to engage the public with the science and the scientists of NASA. Help Youth, Families, and Lifelong Learners Engage with Big Questions of Scientific Thought Empower them to create their understanding of the universe.

Traveling through this visualization, viewers will be able to experience the various stages of stellar development from an embedded protostar glowing in infrared light up to a brand-new star sitting at the tip of a pillar. A 3D printable model showcasing these iconic formations is also available.

Across the annals of time, nebulae and the Pillars of Creation have remained evidence of the dynamic, evolving universe. Continued investigation with increasingly powerful telescopes and innovative visualizations reveal some of their mysteries and deepen our appreciation and understanding of how stars and galaxies form within our surrounding environmental mysteries.

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