PARIS: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope released an iconic image in 1995 which changed people’s perception of space. Show in movies, TV shows and on items from T-shirts to a postage stamp, the photo of the so-called “Pillars of Creation” offered a glimpse at what the origins of our own solar system’s sun might have looked like.
The awe-inspiring photo revealed never-before-seen details of three staggering columns of cold gas bathed in the scorching ultraviolet light from a cluster of young, massive stars in a small region of the Eagle Nebula, or M16.
Paul Scowen, associate research professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU, and former ASU astronomer Jeff Hester conducted the original observation of the nebula.
In celebration of its upcoming 25th anniversary in April, Hubble has revisited the famous pillars, photographing them in both visible and near-infrared light, creating an image far more detailed than the previous one. The high-definition version of the iconic image was possible thanks to upgrades made to the Hubble Space Telescope over the past 25 years.
“It allows us to demonstrate how far Hubble has come in 25 years of observation,” Scowen said during a news conference at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Along with releasing the sharper new photo, the Hubble team revealed an image of the Eagle Nebula in the infrared wavelength, which cuts through the dust and gas, transforming the pillars into eerie, wispy silhouettes seen against a background of myriad stars.
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