The Webb team has released a high-resolution image of the Pillars of Creation captured by the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on board the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
This image of Pillars of Creation includes mid-infrared observations from Webb’s MIRI instrument. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / STScI / Joseph DePasquale, STScI / Alyssa Pagan, STScI.
The Pillars of Creation are three towers of gas and dust located some 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens.
They are a fascinating but relatively small feature of the Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier 16), which was discovered in 1745 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux.
The Pillars of Creation are approximately 4-5 light-years long, while the nebula is 55-70 light-years wide.
“Thousands and thousands of stars have formed in this region. This is made plain when examining the recent image of the object from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument,” Webb astronomers said.
“In MIRI’s view, the majority of the stars are missing. Why? Many newly formed stars are no longer surrounded by enough dust to be detected in mid-infrared light.”
“So MIRI is only able to see those young stars that have not yet cast off their dusty ‘cloaks.’ These are the crimson orbs toward the fringes of the pillars.”
“In contrast, the blue stars that dot the scene are ageing, which means they have shed most of their layers of gas and dust.”
“Mid-infrared light excels at revealing gas and dust in extreme detail. This is also unmistakable throughout the background,” they explained.
“The densest areas of dust are the darkest shades of gray. The red region toward the top, which forms an uncanny V, like an owl with outstretched wings, is where the dust is diffuse and cooler.”
“Notice that no background galaxies make an appearance — the interstellar medium in the densest part of the Milky Way’s disk is too swollen with gas and dust to allow their distant light to penetrate.”
“How vast is this landscape? Trace the topmost pillar, landing on the bright red star jutting out of its lower edge like a broomstick.”
“This star and its dusty shroud are larger than the size of our entire Solar System.”
