In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope released images of the “Pillars of Creation,” spectacular effervescent clouds of interstellar dust and gas where stars are born.
Now, Hubble And that James Webb Space TelescopeNASA has released a beautiful 3D visualization of space structures in both visible and infrared light.
“By flying between the pillars, viewers will experience the three-dimensional structure of the pillars and see how they look different in Hubble’s visible light view and Webb’s infrared light view,” said lead visualization scientist Frank Summers. It said in a statement.
“This contrast helps us understand why we need multiple space telescopes to observe different aspects of the same object,” he continued.
of Pillars of Creation, Located about 5,700 light-years from Earth, the pillar is made of cold molecular hydrogen and dust. Strong winds and radiation from a nearby hot, young star are beginning to strip the pillar of its contents. A long, finger-like structure larger than our Sun can be seen growing out of the pillar’s top. Solar System.
Within these structures, hydrogen and dust are gravitationally collapsing to form new baby stars, which contribute to the continuous dispersion of material within the pillars. The tallest pillars are up to 3 metres high. Light years The distance from top to bottom is three-quarters the distance between the Sun and the nearest star.
The newly released video is based on observational data collected for a study written by Anna MacLeod of Durham University in the UK, who also serves as a scientific advisor to the visualization project.
“By combining observations of different wavelengths of light from NASA’s space telescopes, The Universe“This is a big step forward for the astrophysics division,” said Mark Crumpen, director of the astrophysics division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“The Pillars of Creation region continues to provide us with new insights that deepen our understanding of how stars form, and now this new visualization allows everyone to experience this rich and fascinating landscape in a new way,” Krampin added.
Through the visualization, viewers can glimpse stars in various stages of formation: at the top of the central pillar, for example, we can see an embedded, infant protostar that is bright red in infrared; near the top of the left pillar, we can see an oblique jet of material being ejected from a newborn star, though the star itself is not visible; and at the tip of the left pillar’s “fingers,” we can see a newly formed, bright star.