Description
The card shows a pillar formation in the Eagle Nebula in the direction of the Serpent constellation and it is 6,500 to 7,000 light years from Earth. Pillars are composed of cool molecular hydrogen and dust and the longest pillar is about four light years long. It has already been photographed earlier with the Hubble and Herschel space telescopes and most recently with the James Webb space telescope in 2022.
Pillars are named as Pillars of Creation because the gas and dust are in the process of creating new stars in that area of space.
The image has been edited by cropping. Credits:
Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
