Webb’s Instruments Showcase the Pillars of Creation

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed two new views of the Pillars of Creation, which was made famous by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, and again in 2014. 

The first image shown is Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image, where newly formed protostars are the scene-stealers. These are the bright red orbs that typically have diffraction spikes and lie outside one of the dusty pillars. Learn more about this image here.

The second image shown is Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) image. Interstellar dust cloaks the scene. And while mid-infrared light specialises in detailing where dust is, the stars aren’t bright enough at these wavelengths to appear. Instead, these looming, leaden-hued pillars of gas and dust gleam at their edges, hinting at the activity within. Learn more about this image here.

The pillars are a small region within the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region 6,500 light-years from Earth.