This page describes an image The Pillars of Creation in comparison
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Image caption:
The 'Pillars of Creation' are a renowned astronomical feature situated within the Eagle Nebula in the Serpens constellation. The illustration provides a direct comparison between images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), showcasing the pillars, which span several light years in diameter, in both visible light (also known as optical light) and infrared light. On the left are the pillars as seen by Hubble in visual light, taken in 2014. It displays dark pillars against an opaque background, with only a handful of visible stars. Conversely, the counterpart on the right is Webb’s near-infrared view published in 2022, penetrating the dust and revealing numerous stars of varying sizes.
Their distance from Earth is approximately 6,500 to 7,000 light years. Within these pillars, new stars are constantly forming, making them a subject of extensive study by astronomers. Composed mostly of cool molecular hydrogen and small amounts of interstellar dust, they are subject to erosion by the intense ultraviolet radiation emitted by nearby massive and newborn stars, a process known as photoevaporation.
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Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Credit Link
Related glossary terms:
Dust Cloud
, Infrared Astronomy
, Infrared Telescope
, Optical Astronomy
, Star Formation
, Visible Spectrum
Categories:
Milky Way and Interstellar Medium
, Stars
Image license: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic icons
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Image caption: Die "Säulen der Schöpfung" sind eine bekannte astronomische Erscheinung im Adlernebel im Sternbild Serpens. Die Abbildung zeigt einen direkten Vergleich zwischen Bildern des Hubble-Weltraumteleskops (HST) und des James-Webb-Weltraumteleskops (JWST), die die Säulen, die einen Durchmesser von mehreren Lichtjahren haben, sowohl im sichtbaren Licht (auch bekannt als optisches Licht) als auch im Infrarotlicht zeigen. Auf der linken Seite sind die Säulen zu sehen, wie sie von Hubble im sichtbaren Licht gesehen wurden, aufgenommen im Jahr 2014. Es zeigt dunkle Säulen vor einem undurchsichtigen Hintergrund mit nur einer Handvoll sichtbarer Sterne. Das Gegenstück auf der rechten Seite ist die im Jahr 2022 veröffentlichte Nahinfrarotaufnahme von Webb, die den Staub durchdringt und zahlreiche Sterne unterschiedlicher Größe zeigt.
Ihre Entfernung von der Erde beträgt etwa 6.500 bis 7.000 Lichtjahre. Innerhalb dieser Säulen bilden sich ständig neue Sterne, die von Astronomen eingehend untersucht werden. Sie bestehen größtenteils aus kühlem molekularem Wasserstoff und geringen Mengen an interstellarem Staub und werden durch die intensive ultraviolette Strahlung, die von nahen massereichen und neugeborenen Sternen ausgeht, erodiert - ein Prozess, der als Photoverdampfung bekannt ist.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Related glossary terms: Infrarotastronomie , Infrarotteleskop , Optische Astronomie , Sichtbares Spektrum , Staubwolke , Sternentstehung Caption translation status: Not yet approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Emma Krojanski
Image caption: I "Pilastri della Creazione" sono una famosa struttura astronomica situata all'interno della Nebulosa dell'Aquila, nella costellazione del Serpente. L'illustrazione fornisce un confronto diretto tra le immagini catturate dal telescopio spaziale Hubble (HST) e dal telescopio spaziale James Webb (JWST), mostrando i pilastri, che hanno un diametro di diversi anni luce, sia in luce visibile (nota anche come luce ottica) che in luce infrarossa. A sinistra, i pilastri visti da Hubble in luce visiva, ripresi nel 2014. I pilastri sono scuri su uno sfondo opaco, con solo una manciata di stelle visibili. La controparte a destra è invece la vista di Webb nel vicino infrarosso, pubblicata nel 2022, che penetra la polvere e rivela numerose stelle di varie dimensioni.
La loro distanza dalla Terra è di circa 6.500-7.000 anni luce. All'interno di questi pilastri si formano costantemente nuove stelle, che sono oggetto di studio approfondito da parte degli astronomi. Composte per lo più da idrogeno molecolare freddo e da piccole quantità di polvere interstellare, i pilastri sono soggetti all'erosione da parte dell'intensa radiazione ultravioletta emessa dalle vicine stelle massicce e neonate, un processo noto come fotoevaporazione.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Related glossary terms: Astronomia all'infrarosso , Astronomia ottica , Formazione delle stelle , Nube di polvere , Spettro visibile , Telescopio a infrarossi Caption translation status: Not yet approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Francesco Salvestrini
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