If you’ve ever wanted to take a walk in deep space, this could be as close as you’ve ever been.
In this stunning animation, NASA takes the viewer through the trunks of the ‘Pillars of Creation’ in a nebula 6,500 light-years from Earth.
This is the most detailed and comprehensive video ever produced of these clouds of nascent stars, which are described as “everlasting tendrils” of cosmic dust and gas.
This is possible thanks to a combination of observations from two of NASA’s 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 three light-years into the tall pillars and see young stars being born.
This animation was created by combining observations from the Hubble Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. In this image you can see a comparison between two different observations
This ground-breaking animation captures for the first time the 3D structure of these huge formations and lets the viewer fly through light years of space.
However, this is not just an artist’s fantasy, but a work of scientific research.
Using the observations of Anna McLeod, Associate Professor at Durham University, NASA was able to accurately reconstruct the arrangement of the pillars.
When rendered in 3D, you can clearly see that the columns are not aligned, but are actually stretched across a large area of ​​space.
Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), says: “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 compared to Webb’s. infrared vision.’
The Pillars of Creation are part of the Eagle Nebula, a structure less than 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 in the visible light spectrum from the Hubble Telescope (right)
However, this latest animation combines photos taken by Hubble with the latest observations from JWST.
Not only does this depict the pillars of creation in the highest detail ever captured, but it also provides new insight into the formation of stars like our own sun.
Each of the three pillars consists of cool molecular hydrogen and clouds of interstellar dust.
Stretching for free light-years – three-quarters of the way from our Sun to the nearest star – these huge clouds make perfect stellar nurseries.
The Pillars of Creation 6,500 light years away are in a regional space known as the Eagle Nebula
Thanks to the 3D animation, viewers can see that the pillars are not flat, but are actually spread over a large regional area
While the interior of these structures is hidden in the visible light spectrum, infrared light penetrates the dense dust.
Mr Summers says: “The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object.”
By using JWST to collect information in the infrared spectrum, we are able to peer into dust clouds and observe young stars in various stages of growth.
In the animation you can see them as bright points of light visible through the dust or clearly shown in the infrared spectrum.
the visible light spectrum clearly shows the clouds of dust and cool molecular hydrogen that make up the Pillars of Creation
Infrared images allow scientists to peer into dust clouds and see protostars in their early stages of formation
In one of the pillars we can see a brand new star ejecting a cloud of material into space, while in the largest pillar we can see a “protostar” (a very young star that is still accreting matter).
Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said: “When we combine observations from NASA’s space telescopes at different wavelengths of light, we will expand our understanding of the universe.
“The Pillars of Creation region continues to provide us with 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.”
The Pillars of Creation provides 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 instantly became one of its most famous and evocative images.
The protruding structures, along with the nearby star cluster NGC 6611, are parts of a star-forming region called the Eagle Nebula, also known as Messier 16 or M16.
The creature’s ghostly hand-like pillars are part of the Eagle Nebula – which is 6,500 light-years away from Earth – and are known to be the source of star formation.
The nebula and its associated objects are located about 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Serpent (Hadis).
The Pillars of Creation are a classic example of columnar shapes that develop in the giant clouds of gas and dust that are the birthplace of new stars.
The columns form when the massive, newly formed blue-white O and B stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds that blow away less dense materials from their vicinity.
However, denser pockets of gas and dust can resist this erosion for longer.
Behind such thicker pockets of dust, the material is shielded from the harsh, fading glow of O and B stars.
This shielding creates the dark “tails” or “elephant trunks” that we see as the dark body of the column that points away from the bright stars.