The Pillars of Creation is widely considered to be one of the most stunning images ever recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, that massive structure in space can be seen in 3D, revealing new detail in the famous nebula.
The Eagle Nebula, which contains the pillars, is a stellar birthplace, seen with an open cluster of stars, sitting roughly 7,000 light years from Earth. The original image, recorded by astronomers using Hubble on April 1, 1995, became wildly popular among the public.
The pillars in the famous image are massive — the longest is about 3.25 light years in length — roughly three-quarters the distance between the sun and its closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri. The shortest pillar is approximately half that length.
European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomers are stating the feature could be more accurately described as "The Pillars of Destruction," as new analysis reveals previously unknown events taking place inside the nebula, driving pressure from the star cluster known as NGC 6611.
Column-shaped features often develop inside clouds of gas and dust that are the birthplaces of infant stars. These are created as stellar winds and radiation pressure from massive O- and B-type stars drive gas and dust away from areas where the material is less concentrated.
"Denser pockets of gas and dust, however, can resist this erosion for longer. Behind such thicker dust pockets, material is shielded from the harsh, withering glare of O and B stars. This shielding creates dark 'tails' or 'elephant trunks', which we see as the dusky body of a pillar, that point away from the brilliant stars," ESO officials announced.
The Very Large Telescope was used to examine the gas being driving away by the super-hot blue-white stars. Utilizing the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the observatory, astronomers were able to determine the orientation of the evaporation. Researchers discovered the pillar seen on the far left is pointed roughly toward the Earth and is receiving a great deal of radiation from the open star cluster. These conditions result in that one tip seeming brighter to us than those on the other pillars.
This new examination also reveals how long this astronomical feature is expected to last.
"Astronomers calculate the pillars lose roughly 70 times the mass of the sun every million years. The material that remains makes up a mass roughly 200 times that of the sun. Basic math says the Pillars of Creation have just 3 million years left to live," UPI reported.
Study of the 3D model of The Pillars of Creation was profiled in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
