The Webb Telescope takes pictures of the “Pillars of Creation”; see – science

space telescope James Webb Captured the iconography Pillars of CreationHuge structures of gas and dust filled with stars. The amazing photos were released by NASA This Wednesday (19).

The “Pillars of Creation” became famous thanks to Hubble Space Telescopewho first captured them in 1995 and later in 2014.

At the ends of several columns, there are bright red spotsthat resemble lava. “These are projectiles from stars that are still in the process of formation,” the US space agency said in a statement.

NASA explains that young stars are fired periodically Supersonic aircraft that collide with clouds of material, such thick plumes

The Pillars of Creation are located 6,500 light-years from Earth, in the Eagle Nebula of the Milky Way on Earth. The flicker of thousands of stars illuminates the first image taken by the James Webb Telescope of these giant brown and orange plumes, towering in the middle of the universe.

Pictures from “Pillars of Creation”

The current images are brighter and more stars appear. NASA has published a comparison of Webb and Hubble images.

The agency explained in a statement on Twitter that “Webb” sees “in infrared light that is invisible to our eyes, which allows it to penetrate dust and reveal stars in abundance.” NASA reports that the new look allows for an extension of clearer understanding About how stars form in and out of dusty clouds.

James Webb, and The most powerful telescope and modern From the world launched into space less than a year ago, it allows you to see the opacity of the columns. “On popular request, we had to do Pillars of Creation” with James Webb, tweeted today Klaus Pontopedan, science program director at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which directs Webb Baltimore.

The image, spanning an area of ​​about eight light-years, was taken by the NIRCam web imager, which captures near-infrared wavelengths invisible to the human eye. Image colors have been “translated” into visible light.

According to NASA, the new image will “help researchers renew their models of star formation by determining more accurate numbers of newly formed stars, along with the amounts of gas and dust in the region.”

James Webb has been working since July, making observations 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. One of the main goals of this $10 billion telescope is to study the life cycle of stars. Another major line of research is the study of exoplanets, that is, planets outside the Earth’s solar system.