The Pillars of Creation Don't Exist Anymore

The long-famed "Pillars of Creation" a giant cloud/ column of gas and dust which is 4 light years tall, are no longer there according to Paul Scowen a scientist at Arizona State University. I think the term to be used here is "time Dialation" where by the speed of light ourview of the Universe is a view of the past.

They were destroyed, blasted by a supernova that happened 6,000 years ago. With our telescopes, we can see the supernova advancing, unstoppable, destroying everything it touches. From Earth, the shockwave has not reached the Pillars of Creation yet. For our senses, they are still there—intact.

In one thousand years there will be a hell of a show. The shockwave is already arriving to the Pillars of Creation and, just like they were created, they will be destroyed once again, obliterated by the force of a dead star. As Paul Scowen—from the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University in Tempe and one of the men who led the original Hubble observations back in 1995—explains:

Pretty cool, ATS. The Pillars of Creation destroyed by a supernova. It's like a cosmic can of whoop-A#!@ has been opened. What says ATS?

sploid.gizmodo.com...

a reply to: lostbook

So the end already happened and we missed it?

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: lostbook

So the end already happened and we missed it?

That's one way to look at it. The end happened and we're just waiting for it to come get us.

that's possible they drifted apart, so sad..

Speed of light lag. Cosmic DVR.
Too bad we can't rewind.

a reply to: DAVID64

There's nothing for us to rewind.

The show just hasn't gotten to us yet.

So what we see is like an old photo from the 1800s, a historic look at he by-gone years. We all know this, but it's interesting realizing it through such a statement as in the OP. f&s for sure.

Nothing lasts forever, not even "Pillars of Creation"

There's something sad but at the same time quite comforting about that.

a reply to: lostbook

I'm no expert, but I did take an astronomy class is college. One of the things that we learned that stood out and still exists in my "Awesome File" memory, is the science of how Super Novas explains that the shockwaves solidify dust clouds and are intregal in the creation of planets, stars and solar systems.

The shock wave from an exploding star likely helped trigger the formation of our solar system, according to a new 3D computer model, researchers say.

The solar system is thought to have coalesced from a giant rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula about 4.6 billion years ago. For decades, scientists have suspected a star explosion called a supernova helped trigger our solar system's formation. In particular, the shock wave from the explosion is thought to have compressed parts of the nebula, causing these regions to collapse.
www.space.com...

So it just maybe that "The Pillars of Creation" are turning into solar systems right now. Who knows, maybe that'll be out future neighborhood!

originally posted by: lostbook
I think the term to be used here is "time Dialation"

It's not the corect term to be used here (it applies to Special Relativity and reaching near-light-speeds), but you got the gist of it: light travels at a finite speed (quite slow in cosmic terms), so it will be hundreds of years before the light from the event will reach us.

This thread seems like a good opportunity to post the latest Hubble image of the Pillars, taken at a higher resolution and sharpness than the classic image from 1995: hubblesite.org...



Since the image is false-colour (where emissions of certain ionised gasses were assigned to red, green, and blue channels), I've gone and made an approximately true-colour version:



This image was created by splitting the original image into its red (S II), green (Ha), and blue (O III) components. I then generated a new colour image, using the green channel for red (because ionised Hydrogen glows in red), and the blue channel for both green and blue (because ionised Oxygen glows bluish-green). I then colourised the (Sulphur) in red also, and overlayed it on the image, thus adding to the red overall appearance.

a reply to: wildespace

Very nice. I'd seen the new image but didn't know it wasn't true colour. You are a gentleman, and once again proven yourself a scholar.

Heres a NASA pic lending some perspective on the "pillars" and their surroundings…

image

Source

originally posted by: lostbook
The long-famed "Pillars of Creation" a giant cloud/ column of gas and dust which is 4 light years tall, are no longer there according to Paul Scowen

My avatar is based on part of the pillars of creation so this is relevant to me. Once they can no longer be seen from Earth, I'm going to change my avatar. How long have I got, 1000 years?

Ah yes the inevitability of a end .So whats next , do we switch channels ? I think I will have a cup of tea and watch the birds at the feeder .Those squirrels are not happy with the Vaseline I put on the pole lol

They'll end up somewhere else, everything always does, nothing disappears in our magical universe.

Dp

originally posted by: intrptr
Heres a NASA pic lending some perspective on the "pillars" and their surroundings…

image

Source

It's a cool image (quite literally, too), but it's in infrared. It's also ESA's pic, not NASA's. (but that's just me being a pedant) :-p

Here's a true-colour image of the Eagle Nebula (where the Pillars are located), by Russell Croman: www.rc-astro.com...



A lot of nebulae like this one are dominantly red in colour, due to the ionised Hydrogen.

a reply to: wildespace

I like your image better.

That "hot star cluster" visible in there includes some super size stars if I am not mistaken? The OP article claims that a super nova shock front is visibly encroaching on this region of space. Per chance, Is there more visual information on that "front"?

And one other question if I might…

What is the theory about where all this mass to make this entire nebulae with all those super stars in it came from… originally.

Thanks for gracing the thread with your knowledge about this…

they are probably true pillars of creation because that shock front will likely cause them to create brand new stars and planets. the pillars may be gone but not before they live up to their namesake. From out of the ashes a phoenix arises in new glory.

originally posted by: DAVID64
Speed of light lag. Cosmic DVR.
Too bad we can't rewind.

Are you sure there isn't a way? In a Universe of infinite potential I'd be there is a way.