"Captured Every Detail of the Roaring Dragon in the Night Sky" [Reading Science]

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Image of Star Cradle 'Pillars of Creation'
Much More Precise and High-Resolution Than Previous Hubble Images
Detailed Capture of Surface and Contours, Including Numerous Surrounding Stars and Galaxies

The "Pillars of Creation" located in the Eagle Nebula about 6,500 light-years away from Earth, photographed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Composed of interstellar dust and gas, it is well known as a place where new stars are born. Photo by NASA

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "We visualized every strand of the dragon roaring in the night sky."

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s cutting-edge James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been releasing astronomical observation images with much higher resolution than the existing Hubble Space Telescope. This time, a super high-resolution image precisely capturing the "Pillars of Creation," known as the birthplace of stars, has been unveiled, attracting attention.

On the 19th (local time), NASA released an image of the "Pillars of Creation" taken by JWST in near-infrared. The "Pillars of Creation" is famous as a photo taken by Hubble on April 1, 1995, of interstellar gas and dust clouds about 6,500 light-years away from Earth in the Eagle Nebula. It is considered one of the top 10 most outstanding images taken by Hubble over the past 30 years. Overall, it looks as if lava is erupting or a giant monster like a dragon is raising its forepaw and roaring. This place is named so because gas and dust clump together to form new stars, while simultaneously being eroded by the light from nearby recently formed stars.

The Pillars of Creation image taken by JWST this time shows much more detailed observation of the surface and overall contours of the interstellar dust and gas pillars. Above all, countless stars and galaxies located around the Pillars of Creation were also captured in the image.

The 'Pillars of Creation' images captured respectively by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope.