NASA Releases Breathtaking Infrared Image of Pillars of Creation

A star is born.

Pillars of Creation

NASA's incredible view of the "Pillars of Creation," courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope, has become one of the most iconic views of our cosmos since it was first captured in 1995.

The agency's newest image of the Eagle Nebula, however, has left us speechless. It shows the radiating glow of the pillars in infrared light — and you can see the infrared light piercing through dust and gas, giving the pillars a spectacular blueish shadow.

Now in Infrared

The earliest image of the pillars, a composite of 32 different images compiled using visible light, shows the pillars located in the Eagle Nebula throwing off cool hydrogen gas and cosmic dust.

First discovered in 1745 by Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, the Eagle Nebula is roughly 7,000 light-years from Earth, a nursery for stars in the Serpens constellation.

The pillar structure is immense. Just the largest pillar on the left is about four to five light-years long.

READ MORE: Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation in Infrared [NASA]

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