This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) using data from NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes. Based on scientific results, astronomers and artists modeled this striking formation in three dimensions and created a movie that allows viewers to fly past and among the pillars. What can appear to be three pillars in a two-dimensional image separates into four dust clouds with ionized gas streaming away from each in the three-dimensional model. As the virtual camera flies through the model, the view shifts between the visible-light and infrared-light perspectives. Viewers explore the contrasts between Hubble's and Webb's observations, which demonstrate how the telescopes complement each other by probing different scientific aspects of the clouds. The Pillars of Creation get their nickname from the fact that stars are forming within these dust clouds. The visual tour highlights various stages of star formation, including an embedded protostar at the top of the central pillar, bipolar jets from a hidden star in the process of forming in the upper part of the left pillar, and a newborn star in the middle of the left pillar. This visualization is a product of the AstroViz Project of NASA's Universe of Learning. A longer visualization, The Pillars of Creation and the Interplay of Stars and Dust, includes narration detailing the structures and the science behind them.
PILLARS OF CREATION (VISUALIZATION MOSAIC). This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light). In the Hubble version of the model, the pillars feature dark brown opaque dust and bright yellow ionized gas set against a greenish-blue background. The Webb version of the model showcases orange and orange-brown dust that is semi-transparent, with light blue ionized gas against a dark blue background. The visualization sequence fades back and forth between these two models as the camera flies past and amongst the pillars. These contrasting views illustrate how observations from the two telescopes complement each other and probe different science aspects of the pillars.
This photograph shows a 3D printed model of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. The 3D sculpted computer model used in the Pillars of Creation visualization was converted to the STL file format and set atop a round base for use with 3D printers. Find the full Pillars of Creation 3D Model's printable STL file – as well as files for each of the four individual pillars – on HubbleSite and WebbTelescope.
Newswise — Made famous in 1995 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, 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 yet of these star-birthing clouds.
"By flying past and amongst the pillars, viewers experience their three-dimensional structure and see how they look different in the Hubble visible-light view versus the Webb infrared-light view," explained principal visualization scientist Frank Summers of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, who led the movie development team for NASA's Universe of Learning. "The contrast helps them understand why we have more than one space telescope to observe different aspects of the same object."
The four Pillars of Creation, made primarily of cool molecular hydrogen and dust, are being eroded by the fierce winds and punishing ultraviolet light of nearby hot, young stars. Finger-like structures larger than the solar system protrude from the tops of the pillars. Within these fingers can be embedded, embryonic stars. The tallest pillar stretches across three light-years, three-quarters of the distance between our Sun and the next nearest star.
The movie takes visitors into the three-dimensional structures of the pillars. Rather than an artistic interpretation, the video is based on observational data from a science paper led by Anna McLeod, an associate professor at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. McLeod also served as a scientific advisor on the movie project.
"The Pillars of Creation were always on our minds to create in 3D. Webb data in combination with Hubble data allowed us to see the Pillars in more complete detail," said production lead Greg Bacon of STScI. "Understanding the science and how to best 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 complex and holistic portrait of the pillars. Hubble sees objects that glow in visible light, at thousands of degrees. Webb's infrared vision, which is sensitive to cooler objects with temperatures of just hundreds of degrees, pierces through obscuring dust to see stars embedded in the pillars.
"When we combine observations from NASA's space telescopes across different wavelengths of light, we broaden our understanding of the universe," said Mark Clampin, Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The Pillars of Creation region continues to offer us new insights that hone our understanding of how stars form. Now, with this new visualization, everyone can experience this rich, captivating landscape in a new way."
Produced for NASA by STScI with partners at Caltech/IPAC, and developed by the AstroViz Project of NASA's Universe of Learning, the 3D visualization is part of a longer, narrated video that combines a direct connection to the science and scientists of NASA's Astrophysics missions with attention to the needs of an audience of youth, families, and lifelong learners. It enables viewers to explore fundamental questions in 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 see at its top an embedded, infant protostar glimmering bright red in infrared light. Near the top of the left pillar is a diagonal jet of material ejected from a newborn star. Though the jet is evidence of star birth, viewers can't see the star itself. Finally, at the end of one of the left pillar's protruding "fingers" 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 the STL file format, so that viewers can download the model file and print it out on 3D printers. Examining 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 the science of nebulas and learners can be explored through other products produced by NASA's Universe of Learning such as ViewSpace, a video exhibit that is currently running at almost 200 museums and planetariums across the United States. Visitors can go beyond video to explore the images produced by space telescopes with interactive tools now available for museums and planetariums.
NASA's Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, California, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, California.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, Colorado, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
NASA's Universe of Learning is part of the NASA Science Activation program, from the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. The Science Activation program connects NASA science experts, real content and experiences, and community leaders in a way that activates minds and promotes deeper understanding of our world and beyond. Using its direct connection to the science and the experts behind the science, NASA's Universe of Learning provides resources and experiences that enable youth, families, and lifelong learners to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.
For more information and to download files, visit: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-020 and https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-020
Related Links:
- NASA's Hubble Portal
- NASA's Webb Portal
- NASA's Universe of Learning Portal
- Pillars of Creation 3D Model on HubbleSite
- Pillars of Creation 3D Model on WebbTelescope
Media Contact:
Ann Jenkins / Christine Pulliam
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
[email protected] / [email protected]
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Credit: Image: Greg Bacon (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI), NASA's Universe of Learning
Caption: PILLARS OF CREATION (VISUALIZATION MOSAIC). This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light). In the Hubble version of the model, the pillars feature dark brown opaque dust and bright yellow ionized gas set against a greenish-blue background. The Webb version of the model showcases orange and orange-brown dust that is semi-transparent, with light blue ionized gas against a dark blue background. The visualization sequence fades back and forth between these two models as the camera flies past and amongst the pillars. These contrasting views illustrate how observations from the two telescopes complement each other and probe different science aspects of the pillars.
Credit: 3D Model: Leah Hustak (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI), NASA's Universe of Learning
Caption: This photograph shows a 3D printed model of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. The 3D sculpted computer model used in the Pillars of Creation visualization was converted to the STL file format and set atop a round base for use with 3D printers. Find the full Pillars of Creation 3D Model's printable STL file – as well as files for each of the four individual pillars – on HubbleSite and WebbTelescope.
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