This haunting portrait snapped by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows the Pillars of Creation in mid-infrared light. Thousands of stars that exist in this region seem to disappear in this Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) image while seemingly endless layers of gas and dust become the centrepiece.
The Pillars of Creation lie within the vast Eagle Nebula, which is 6500 light-years away from Earth. In this MIRI view, three prominent pillars are visible, with the left pillar being the largest and widest. The peaks of the second and third pillars are set off in darker shades of blue outlines. There are a few red stars that appear within the pillars while some blue and white stars dot the overall scene.
Stars are easiest to detect in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light while mid-infrared light excels at revealing gas and dust in extreme detail. The detection of dust is extremely important as it is a major ingredient for star formation.
"Many newly formed stars are no longer surrounded by enough dust to be detected in mid-infrared light. Instead, MIRI observes young stars that have not yet cast off their dusty "cloaks." These are the crimson orbs toward the fringes of the pillars. In contrast, the blue stars that dot the scene are aging, which means they have shed most of their layers of gas and dust," NASA explained in a post.
This view was first captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, followed by many other observatories later on.
"As a result of the new MIRI image, astronomers now have higher resolution data in mid-infrared light than ever before, and will analyze its far more precise dust measurements to create a more complete three-dimensional landscape of this distant region," NASA said in a statement.
News credit to https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/2230327-at-least-42-dead-in-floods-landslides-in-south-philippines
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