Webb Takes a Stunning, Star-Filled Portrait of the Pillars of Creation

I'm gobsmacked at how beautiful and detailed this image is. The best look at the famous Pillars of Creation we've had ever.

The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of colour in the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form.

esawebb.org...

a reply to: wildespace

Simply Amazing...

And somehow, its a question whether even one of those stars has a rock with intelligent life revolving around it.

a reply to: wildespace

How old is the light that we're seeing? Do the pillars even exist anymore or are we seeing light from long passed?

originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: wildespace

How old is the light that we're seeing? Do the pillars even exist anymore or are we seeing light from long passed?

They are 6,500 light-years away, so we're seeing them as they were 6,500 years ago. The structure might have changed quite a bit in the meanwhile, due to stellar winds and supernova shocks.

OH wow.


That makes the earth and human problems seem so insignificant sometimes.

a reply to: wildespace

a reply to: wildespace

same picture we've seen 1000 times just a littler sharper... For 10BN i am expecting ground breaking not medicore.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: wildespace

Simply Amazing...

And somehow, its a question whether even one of those stars has a rock with intelligent life revolving around it.

I really hope there is at least one intelligent species on a planet near to the pillars of creation,because just imagine the view they would have in their sky..
I wonder how that would form their ideas seeing such magnificence up close.

We are blessed enough with our beautiful milky way sky,but the pillars are another level of awesome.

Tell me about it. Point at the star only 4 light years away and let’s see what turns up.

originally posted by: seedofchucky
a reply to: wildespace

same picture we've seen 1000 times just a littler sharper... For 10BN i am expecting ground breaking not medicore.

Just a little sharper?.. Have you seen the full-resolution version? cdn.esawebb.org...
There's an incredible amount of detail there.

a reply to: wildespace

We don't have a time lapse of these yet? Always made me think of clouds building without the extra compression.

Crazier when you realize and understand how big that actually is. Better yet how small we really are.

It's absolutely incredible, I could get lost just looking and wondering many things and thoughts


here's what our capabilities were in 1994 and 2014 in comparison

When you imagine the religion and mythology and lore we have and then try to guess what the guys living with that up close and personal when they look up it boggles the mind.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: wildespace

Simply Amazing...

And somehow, its a question whether even one of those stars has a rock with intelligent life revolving around it.

I really hope there is at least one intelligent species on a planet near to the pillars of creation,because just imagine the view they would have in their sky..
I wonder how that would form their ideas seeing such magnificence up close.

We are blessed enough with our beautiful milky way sky,but the pillars are another level of awesome.

originally posted by: nonspecific
When you imagine the religion and mythology and lore we have and then try to guess what the guys living with that up close and personal when they look up it boggles the mind.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse

originally posted by: Macenroe82
a reply to: wildespace

Simply Amazing...

And somehow, its a question whether even one of those stars has a rock with intelligent life revolving around it.

I really hope there is at least one intelligent species on a planet near to the pillars of creation,because just imagine the view they would have in their sky..
I wonder how that would form their ideas seeing such magnificence up close.

We are blessed enough with our beautiful milky way sky,but the pillars are another level of awesome.

I don't have the details in front of me, but my guess is that this visual wasn't anything near "up close and personal" when the earth even formed- let alone when life on earth became a thing

No I meant If there's life on planets that are nearby to it not that I thought the earth was at one point close enough for us to see it.

A planet close by that life evolved on would have some really cool origin theories I'd imagine.



a reply to: lordcomac

Some of the incredible detail from the new image - jets from still-forming stars.





"Along the edges of the pillars are wavy lines that look like lava. These are ejections from stars that are still forming. Young stars periodically shoot out jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust. This sometimes also results in bow shocks, which can form wavy patterns like a boat does as it moves through water. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, and will continue to form for millions of years."
esawebb.org...