NASA’s Webb telescope captures newborn stars in Pillars of Creation
It is the miracle of cosmic birth.
NASA’s James Webb telescope has once again shed light on the mysteries of our universe showing several hundred newborn stars within the Pillars of Creation, the Space Telescope Science Institute shared.
The Pillars of Creation — which appear as columns of rust-colored gas and were first photographed in 1995 by the Hubble telescope — are about 6,500 light years from Earth.
According to NASA’s Hubble telescope website, the Pillars are the remnants of a larger cloud of molecular hydrogen that has been evaporated by the younger stars that have since appeared there.
“When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars of gas and dust they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars,” reads the Webb telescope’s website.
According to the experts, the crimson lights that are found atop the pillars are the result of the new stars.
“The crimson glow comes from the energetic hydrogen molecules that result from jets and shocks these young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old.”
New stars also allegedly send out supersonic jets of material that cause the pillars to distort and change shape.
Despite the hundreds of new stars that were found, there are no background galaxies visible in the photos.