To celebrate 25 years of space-based telescope images, the Hubble telescope has taken a new, high-def version of its famous 1995 photograph of the Eagle Nebula’s “Pillars of Creation.” And of course, it’s glorious.
In a release, the Hubble team writes:
The pillars are bathed in the blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation. Stars are being born deep inside the pillars, which are made of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust. The pillars are part of a small region of the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region 6,500 light-years from Earth.
Here you can see the new image next to the 1995 one for comparison:
Learn more about the fantastic Hubble Telescope on the Hubblesite.
