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Pillars of Creation
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this iconic image of the Eagle nebula, dubbed the "Pillars of Creation," highlighting its finger-like pillars where new stars are thought to be forming.
The Eagle nebula is 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens. It contains a young, hot star cluster, NGC6611, visible with modest backyard telescopes, which is sculpting and illuminating the surrounding gas and dust. The result is a huge, hollowed-out cavity and pillars, each several light-years long.
What Scientists/Engineers Say About This Image:
"The Hubble has done more for the field of astronomy than any other mission. It's, on a scientific basis, easily NASA's most successful science mission ever. Of course it has been up there for 20 years, so it should be."
--Jim Kasting, Distinguished Professor of Geoscience, Penn State University
Other people can surely say much more than I can about HST's countless inspiring images in unparalleled detail and color, not to mention the many discoveries carefully extracted from these images. One of the Hubble images I remember more than any other is the "Pillars of Creation."
--Jeff Cuzzi: Research Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
(Read More of what Jeff Cuzzi has to say about this and other significant events by clicking here.)
Last Update: 28 Feb 2012 (AMB)
Credit: NASA
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