Webb Releases Stunning New Image of the Pillars of Creation

On October 19th, 2022, NASA revealed the latest work from the James Webb Space Telescope: a beautiful image of the Pillars of Creation, a famous starscape located in the Eagle Nebula. Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) allows us to find never before seen stars and details scattered about the scene.

Image of the Pillars of Creation taken by Webb’s NIRCam. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

The Eagle Nebula is an open star cluster located in the constellation Serpens. Like many open clusters, this is a younger star-forming region full of interstellar dust that will one day coalesce into newborn stars. There are around 8,100 stars found within the nebula, which includes HD 168076, the brightest star in the nebula. This star may be visible on a clear night with a good telescope or pair of binoculars.

The Eagle Nebula, taken by the Wide-Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory. The Pillars of Creation can be seen near the bright center of the nebula. Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

While the Eagle Nebula had been studied by astronomers previously, it wasn’t until the Hubble Space Telescope peered into it that it became one of the most famous regions of space. In 1995, Hubble snapped a picture of large pillars of interstellar dust located in the middle of the nebula, and the rest was history. The stunning image was quickly dubbed the Pillars of Creation, as the tall pillars of dust are responsible for birthing new stars as…