Scientists Create the First Ever 3D View of the Pillars of Creation

It's a leap forward for understanding objects in the depths of space. Scientists have used the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in order to create the first complete 3D view of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula.

The original image of the Pillars of Creation was taken two decades ago. Immediately, it became one of the most famous and evocative pictures of space. These billowing clouds, which extend over a few light-years, have been studied ever since.

The Pillars of Creation, along with the nearby star cluster, NGC 6611, are parts of a star formation region called the Eagle Nebula. The nebula and its associated objects are located about 7,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens.

The pillars are actually a classic example of column-like shapes that develop in the giant clouds of gas and dust that are the birthplaces of new stars. The columns arise when immense, freshly formed blue-white O and B stars give off intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds that blow away less dense materials from their vicinity.

Denser pockets of gas and dust can resist this erosion for longer, however. Behind thicker dust pockets, material is shielded from the harsh glare of the stars. This shielding creates dark "tails" or "elephant trunks," which we see as the dusky body of the pillar, that point away from the brilliant stars.

MUSE has shown that the tip of the left pillar is facing us, atop a pillar that is actually situated behind NGC 6611, unlike the other pillars. This tip bears the brunt of the radiation from the stars, and as a result looks brighter to our eyes than the bottom left, middle and right pillars, whose tips are all pointed away from our view.

The researchers hope that the new images allow them to better understand how young O and B stars influence the formation of subsequent stars.

The findings are published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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