NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured an eerie image of the Pillars of Creation – the dust-filled columns look like a ghostly hand reaching into the depths of space 7,000 light-years from Earth.
The chilling image was captured in mid-infrared light – showing a new view of a familiar cosmic landscape – blocking out the bright starlight to capture only the flowing, ominous dust.
This is the first time the world has seen how dense some areas of dust are in the Pillars of Creation, which formed more than five million years ago, usually seen surrounded by glowing stars.
Although the twinkling stars are not pictured, the glowing edges of the dust caps represent young stars that are just beginning to form.
The creepy image looks like a ghostly hand reaching out into space. This new view of the Pillars of Creation was taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The device blocked out the starlight, so it could only see the ominous interstellar dust
Webb’s Mid-Infrared Light Instrument (MIRI) has both a camera and a spectrograph, which separates incoming light by its frequency and records the resulting spectrum.
MIRI also has sensitive detectors that allow it to see redshifted light from distant galaxies, newly formed stars and faintly visible comets, as well as objects in the Kuiper belt.
And JWST is the only one ever to have such technology.
“Why does mid-infrared light create such a gloomy, chilly mood in Webb’s mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) image?” NASA shared in a statement.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the most detailed image of the Pillars of Creation earlier this month, revealing columns of cool interstellar gas and dust surrounded by countless twinkling stars. This is the first time the gas and dust can be seen clumping together and populations of forming stars with some still encased in dust are clearly visible
The previous image of the cosmic formation was taken by the Hubble telescope in 2014m showing stars as glowing red orbs and the thick dust looking more opaque
“Interstellar dust blankets the scene. And while mid-infrared light specializes in detailing where dust is, the stars aren’t bright enough at these wavelengths to show. Instead, these looming, lead-colored columns of gas and dust glow at their edges, hinting at the activity within .’
Thousands and thousands of stars have actually formed in this region, as observed in an image taken by James Webb earlier this month, which provides the most detailed image of the Pillars of Creation ever seen by the human eye.
The intricate image from JWST will help astronomers identify much more precise counts of newly formed stars, along with the amounts of gas and dust in the region.
This is because for the first time the gas and dust can be seen clumping together and populations of forming stars with some still encased in dust are clearly visible.
WST took the image with its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which can detect light from the earliest stars and galaxies.
The telescope uses a broad spectrum of infrared light to “see” back in time, which is done by analyzing the time it takes for light to travel through space.
Hubble’s 2014 showed the stars as bright red orbs, but NIRCAM could see the glowing glimmers when they are in space.
The thick dusty brown pillars are no longer as opaque and many more red stars still forming come into view.
The first image of the Pillars of Creation was also taken by Hubble in 1995, which was the first evidence that stars could be born within the pillars
JWST also snapped wavy lines at the edge of some pillars, which are stars still forming in the gas and dust.
NASA explained in a statement that the young stars periodically shoot supersonic jets that collide with clouds of material, like these thick pillars.
The collision can sometimes lead to bow shocks, which form wavy patterns that reflect water as a boat sails through.
“The crimson glow comes from the energetic hydrogen molecules originating from jets and shocks,” NASA shared.
“This is evident in the second and third pillars from the top – the NIRCam image practically pulsates with their activity.
These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old.
The pillar of creation lies in the constellation Serpens.
This constellation contains a young hot star cluster, NGC6611, visible with modest backyard telescopes, which sculpts and illuminates the surrounding gas and dust, resulting in an enormous hollow cavity and pillars, each several light-years long.
The 1995 Hubble image suggested that new stars are being born within the pillars. Because of obscuring dust, Hubble’s visible light imager could not see inside and prove that young stars were forming.
NASA then sent Hubble back for a second visit, so they could compare the two images.
Astronomers noticed changes in a jet-like feature shooting away from one of the newborn stars within the pillars.
The jet grew 60 billion miles longer in the time between observations, indicating that material in the jet was traveling at a speed of about 450,000 miles per hour.
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