If you ever wanted to take a walk in deep space, this might be as close as ever.
In this breathtaking animation, NASA lets the viewer wander through the trunks of the “Pillars of Creation” in a nebula located 6,500 light years from Earth.
It is the most detailed and comprehensive video ever created of these star birth clouds, described as “towering tendrils” of cosmic dust and gas.
This is made possible by combining observations from NASA’s two most powerful space telescopes, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope.
And, thanks to JWST’s infrared spectrum, you can even peer inside the three pillars from several light years away to see young stars being born.
This animation was created by combining observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. In this image you can see a comparison between the two different observations
This groundbreaking animation captures the 3D structure of these vast formations for the first time, allowing the viewer to soar light years into space.
However, this is not just a fanciful impression by an artist, but a work of scientific research.
Thanks to observations made by Anna McLeod, associate professor at the University of Durham, NASA was able to precisely reconstruct the arrangement of the pillars.
Rendered in 3D, it is clearly seen that the pillars are not aligned, but are actually stretched over a large region of space.
Frank Summers, senior visualization scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), says: “By flying over and passing among the pillars, viewers learn about their three-dimensional structure and see how they appear different in Hubble’s visible light view compared to to Webb’s infrared light view. »
The Pillars of Creation are part of the Eagle Nebula, a structure located just under 7,000 light years from Earth – first observed by Hubble Space Tesco in 1985.
This animation was created by combining observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (left) which takes images in the infrared spectrum with those of the visible light spectrum from the Hubble Telescope (right).
However, this latest animation combines photographs taken by Hubble with the latest observations from JWST.
Not only does this render the Pillars of Creation in the greatest detail ever captured, it also offers a new perspective on the formation of stars like our own sun.
Each of the three pillars is composed of cold molecular hydrogen and clouds of interstellar dust.
Stretching out to clear light-years – three-quarters of the distance between our sun and the nearest star – these vast clouds make perfect stellar nurseries.
The Pillars of Creation 6,500 light years away lie in a regional space known as the Eagle Nebula
Through 3D animation, viewers can see that the pillars are not flat but are actually arranged in a large regional space.
While the interior of these structures is hidden in the visible light spectrum, infrared light pierces through the thick dust.
Mr Summers says: “The contrast helps them understand why we have multiple space telescopes to look at different aspects of the same object.”
Using JWST to gather information in the infrared spectrum, we can peer into dust clouds to observe young stars in different stages of growth.
In the animation you can see them as bright spots visible through the dust or clearly visible in the infrared spectrum.
the visible light spectrum clearly shows the clouds of dust and cold molecular hydrogen that make up the pillars of creation
Infrared images allow scientists to look inside dust clouds to see proto-stars in the early stages of their formation
In one of the pillars we can see a brand new star ejecting a plume of material into space while in the larger pillar we can see a “protostar” (a very young star that is still gathering mass).
Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, says: “When we combine observations from NASA space telescopes of different wavelengths of light, we expand our understanding of the universe.
“The Pillars of Creation region continues to provide us with new insights that improve our understanding of star formation.
“Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich and captivating landscape in a new way. »
The Pillars of Creation offer one of the most famous cosmic views in astronomical history
The original Hubble Space Telescope image of the famous Pillars of Creation was taken two decades ago and immediately became one of its most famous and evocative images.
The protruding structures, along with the nearby star cluster, NGC 6611, are part of a star-forming region called the Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16 or M16.
Resembling a ghostly hand, the Pillars of Creation are part of the Eagle Nebula, located 6,500 light years from Earth, and are known to be a source of star formation.
The nebula and its associated objects are located approximately 7,000 light years away in the constellation Serpent.
The Pillars of Creation are a classic example of the column-like shapes that grow in the giant clouds of gas and dust that are the birthplace of new stars.
The columns appear when huge, freshly formed blue-white O and B stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds that blow away less dense material from their neighborhood.
However, denser pockets of gas and dust can resist this erosion longer.
Behind these thicker dust pockets, the material is protected from the harsh, withering glow of the O and B stars.
This shielding creates dark “tails” or “elephant trunks,” which we see like the dark body of a pillar, that point away from the bright stars.