{"id":37769,"date":"2022-10-19T14:46:04","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=112951"},"modified":"2022-10-19T15:02:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T15:02:10","slug":"webb-telescope-captures-spectacular-new-image-of-pillars-of-creation","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/webb-telescope-captures-spectacular-new-image-of-pillars-of-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Webb Telescope captures spectacular new image of Pillars of Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Iain Todd\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 19 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a brand new image of the Pillars of Creation, a star-forming region within the Eagle Nebula<\/a> that contains dense pillars of cosmic dust and gas.<\/p>\n

The image calls to mind the Hubble Space Telescope image of the Pillars of Creation<\/a> \u2013 perhaps Hubble\u2019s most famous image \u2013 and is further evidence of just what the Webb Telescope can achieve.<\/p>\n

See the latest James Webb Space Telescope images<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s image of the Pillars of Creation. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; J. DePasquale, A. Koekemoer, A. Pagan (STScI).<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This new Pillars of Creation pic was captured using Webb\u2019s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), and reveals evidence of newly-formed protostars embedded within the cosmic dust.<\/p>\n

These are seen as red blobs scattered throughout the image.<\/p>\n

These protostars are the early seeds that will eventually form brand new stars<\/a>, as cosmic material begins to coalesce, collapse under its own gravity and heat up.<\/p>\n

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Hubble\u2019s famous 1995 image the \u2018Pillars of Creation\u2019. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The wavy lines seen along the edges of the pillars are jets shooting out from newborn stars, smashing into the clouds of gas and dust and forming \u2018bow shocks\u2019 as they do so, much like a vessel moving through water.<\/p>\n

These young stars could be as young as just a few 100,000 years old: veritable infants in cosmic terms!<\/p>\n

Also visible are the 6-pronged diffraction spikes<\/a> \u2013 caused by Webb\u2019s mirror \u2013 that are fast becoming an iconic feature in JWST images.<\/p>\n