The Pillars of Creation star in a new visualization from NASA’s Hubble and Webb telescopes

Made famous by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, the Pillars of Creation at the heart of the Eagle Nebula captured imaginations around the world with their breathtaking, ethereal beauty.

Now NASA has released a new 3D visualization of these towering celestial structures using data from NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. This is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie of these star clouds to date.

“By flying past and between the pillars, viewers will experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they differ from Hubble’s visible light view versus Webb’s infrared view,” explained Principal Visualization Scientist Frank Summers of the Space Telescope Science Institute. (STScI) in Baltimore, who led NASA’s space film development team. “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object.”

Made primarily of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, the Four Pillars of Creation are being eroded by violent winds and punishing ultraviolet light from nearby hot young stars. Protruding from the tops of the pillars are finger-like structures larger than the solar system. Embryonic stars can be embedded in these fingers. The tallest column stretches across three light-years, three-quarters of the distance between our Sun and the next nearest star.

The film takes visitors into the three-dimensional structures of the columns. Rather than an artistic interpretation, the video is based on observational data from research led by Anna McLeod, Associate Professor at the University of Durham in the UK. McLeod also served as a scientific advisor on the film project.

“We’ve always thought about creating the Pillars of Creation in 3D. The Webb data combined with the Hubble data allowed us to see the Pillars in fuller detail,” said STScI’s Production Manager Greg Bacon. “Understanding the science and how best to represent it allowed our small, talented team to meet the challenge of visualizing this iconic structure.”

The new visualization helps viewers experience how two of the world’s most powerful space telescopes work together to provide a more comprehensive and holistic portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that shine in visible light for thousands of degrees. Sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of only hundreds of degrees, Webb’s infrared vision penetrates the obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.

“When we combine observations from NASA’s space telescopes at different wavelengths of light, we will expand our understanding of the universe,” said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The Pillars of Creation region continues to offer us new insights that advance our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich, captivating landscape in a new way.”

Created for NASA by STScI with Caltech/IPAC partners and developed by NASA’s Universe of Learning AstroViz project, the 3D visualization is part of a longer, narrated video that combines direct connections to science and NASA Astrophysics mission scientists with attention to audience needs youth, families and lifelong learning students. It allows viewers to explore the fundamental questions of science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.

Several stages of star formation are highlighted in the visualization. As viewers approach the central pillar, they will see a small protostar nestled at its top glowing bright red in infrared light. At the top of the left column is a diagonal stream of material ejected from the newborn star. Although the jet is evidence of the birth of a star, viewers cannot see the star itself. Finally, at the end of one of the protruding “fingers” of the left column is a blazing, brand new star.

A bonus product from this visualization is a new 3D printable model of the Pillars of Creation. The base model of the four pillars used in the visualization has been adapted to an STL file format so viewers can download the model file and print it on 3D printers. Exploring the structure of the pillars in this tactile and interactive way adds new perspectives and insights to the overall experience.

More visualizations and connections between nebula science and students can be explored through other products created by NASA Universe of Learning, such as ViewSpace, a video exhibit currently running in nearly 200 museums and planetariums across the United States. Visitors can go beyond video to explore images created by space telescopes with interactive tools now available to museums and planetariums.