'Pillars of Creation' reloaded (Photos/Video)

Another spectacular set of photos and videos for us to marvel at. I remember the first time I saw the Pillars of Creation photograph and the wonder that set in. Now, not only do I get to marvel at the original photograph, amazing technology is adding more layers to this beautiful scene.

It's sad this won't be a permanent beauty. I'm just glad they are able to capture such amazing photos.

I cannot wait to see what's next!

Marvel at the pictures and then be sure to watch the video at the end!

The Hubble Space Telescope's "Pillars of Creation" picture is arguably the best-known astronomical image of the 20th century, but can you spot the pillars in the 21st-century version? Those well-known towers of gas and dust are dwarfed by the full majesty of the Eagle Nebula in a view that's based on far-infrared observations from the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, plus X-ray readings from the XMM-Newton probe.

This picture combines a far-infrared view from the Herschel Space Observatory with an X-ray view from XMM-Newton to show how the hot young stars detected by the X-ray observations are sculpting and interacting with the surrounding ultra-cool gas and dust, which provide the critical material for star formation.(below)


This 1995 Hubble Space Telescope image of the "Pillars of Creation" is probably the most famous astronomical image of the 20th century. Taken in visible light using a combination of SII/H-alpha and OIII filters, it shows a part of the Eagle Nebula where new stars are forming. The tallest pillar is around 4 light-years high. (below)


The 8.2-meter VLT's ANTU telescope imaged the famous "Pillars of Creation" region and its surroundings in near-infrared using the ISAAC instrument. This enabled astronomers to penetrate the obscuring dust in their search to detect newly formed stars. The near-infrared results showed that 11 of the Pillars' 73 evaporating gaseous globules (or EGGs) possibly contained stars, and that the tips of the pillars contain stars and nebulosity not seen in the Hubble image(below)

In 2001, a near-infrared image from the ISAAC instrument, at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope facility in Chile, cut through the dust and revealed some of the infant stars within their EGGs.
Researchers determined that 11 of the 73 EGGs in the Hubble image clearly had stars associated with them. Only one of these stars had been previously been seen in the Hubble images, and another five EGGs were noted as possibly containing stars.

The European Space Agency says the new imagery supports the view that one of the stars in the NGC 6611 clusters went supernova, sending out a shock wave that is about to tear the pillars apart.

In fact, it's probably already happened — but because of the distance separating us from the nebula, we just haven't seen it yet. Astronomers expect that we'll witness the destruction of the Pillars of Creation sometime in the next few hundred years. So enjoy the view while you can.

Could you make out the pillars in the top picture? This video puts all the imagery in perspective:



Link to Source

Amazing photo's.

I gave you a star, I'd flag this thread but I don't have enough posts yet :/

Video is well worth a watch in 720p. Breathtaking.

Breath takingly beautiful! The immense vastness of the Universe is awe-inspiring.
Is the Eagle Nebula really a part of Ophiuchus?

reply to post by Sahabi


Messier 16 can be found within the constellation of Serpens Cauda (the Tail of the Serpent), which is sandwiched between Aquila, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus in the heart of one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way.

Originally posted by Sahabi
Breath takingly beautiful! The immense vastness of the Universe is awe-inspiring.
Is the Eagle Nebula really a part of Ophiuchus?

I just wish we could see this with the naked eye.

In regards to Ophiuchus:

The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle. It is the subject of the famous "Pillars of Creation" photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows pillars of star-forming gas and dust within the nebula.

source

Originally posted by Popular
Amazing photo's.

I gave you a star, I'd flag this thread but I don't have enough posts yet :/

Video is well worth a watch in 720p. Breathtaking.

edit on 18-1-2012 by Popular because: (no reason given)

Thank you! I really like looking at this photo with the thought "Pillars of Creation". Interesting the thoughts it inspires. Albeit a small photo...



I see what appears to be a man-like figure that dominates the space. but I have a good imagination...

reply to post by freakjive

Pillars of creation? What's that?

Just kidding, part of the old image is my avatar.

Now that they have new imagery, does this mean I have to change my avatar?

Thanks for the post, of course I find it of interest with an avatar like mine!

Originally posted by Arbitrageur
reply to post by freakjive

 

Pillars of creation? What's that?

Just kidding, part of the old image is my avatar.

Now that they have new imagery, does this mean I have to change my avatar?

Thanks for the post, of course I find it of interest with an avatar like mine!

I love your avatar, but a new and improved one could be in order!
The new image is amazing!

Originally posted by freakjive
I love your avatar, but a new and improved one could be in order!

The new image is amazing!

Yes it is, but we better enjoy it while it lasts. Since the pillars have likely already been destroyed we may only have a few hundred years left to enjoy the view.

And now, sadly, I'm not as motivated to update my avatar to something that probably doesn't even exist anymore.

But I still love the new images! They give a totally different perspective of star formation which is fascinating.

What makes these photos so amazing that even if you showed this to a random person who had no idea this was of a "space object". It's still a very beautiful picture....and the fact that it's possible life out there makes it more awe inspiring.

Originally posted by Duceis
What makes these photos so amazing that even if you showed this to a random person who had no idea this was of a "space object". It's still a very beautiful picture....and the fact that it's possible life out there makes it more awe inspiring.

I like the way you think, Duceis. Awe inspiring is a great way to describe the feelings I get from these images.

Thanks so much for the post and video!

Originally posted by plopunisher
Thanks so much for the post and video!

No problem! I'm glad everyone enjoyed them as much as I did. Not necessarily an important topic, but one too cool not to share.

Absolutley stunning images many thanks for putting them into a post

everytime i see images such like that it kinda throws a perspective on just how massivley amazing the solar system is

S+F
very nice post indeed thanks

Originally posted by UkRandom
Absolutley stunning images many thanks for putting them into a post

everytime i see images such like that it kinda throws a perspective on just how massivley amazing the solar system is

S+F
very nice post indeed thanks

Amazing pics, but I guess I've been too long on ATS now, because in the first picture I see a picture of God or an angel or a grey-one, reading a book or praying and I am quite upset by NASA for showing the stuff in artificial colors; they must be hiding something again?


(erm, just joking..... )
In my old study I had hundreds of astronomy pictures all over the walls, and when the Hubble pics became available, or the pics of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars by the spaceprobes, the walls got covered even more by pics. I guess if I still had that study, the whole ceiling would by now have been covered with pictures too