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Pillars of Creation 3D Model

Photograph of a 3D printed model of the Pillars of Creation. The model is light gray with a silk-like texture, and the background is white.

This photograph shows a 3D printed model of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. The 3D sculpted computer model used in the Pillars of Creation visualization was converted to the STL file format and set atop a round base for use with 3D printers.

Find the full Pillars of Creation 3D Model's printable STL file – as well as files for each of the four individual pillars – on HubbleSite and WebbTelescope.

  • Release Date
    June 26, 2024
  • Science Release
    Pillars of Creation Star in New Visualization from NASA’s Hubble and Webb Telescopes
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA’s Universe of Learning, Leah Hustak (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (Print), 2060 × 2060
    tif (3.54 MB)
  • Full Res (Display), 2060 × 2060
    png (3.37 MB)

Related Images & Videos

Mosaic of the Pillars of Creation visualization model, composed of 4 alternating strips of Hubble and Webb versions oriented 45 degrees clockwise from vertical.

Pillars of Creation (Visualization Mosaic)

This image is a mosaic of visible-light and infrared-light views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization . The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is alternately shown in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible...

Still image from the title sequence of the video showing side-by-side images of the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula. An image from the Hubble Space Telescope is on the right. An image from the Webb Space Telescope is on the left. The title of the video, “The Pillars of Creation: A 3D Multiwavelength Exploration,” is set in white text on two lines, running horizontally across the images.

The Pillars of Creation: A 3D Multiwavelength Exploration

This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) using data from NASA's Hubble and Webb space telescopes. Based on scientific results, astronomers and artists modeled this striking formation in three dimensions and...

Mosaic of the visualization model of the Pillars of Creation. The mosaic is rectangular, with a landscape orientation, and is composed of two separate triangular images that are blended together along a boundary that runs from the top left to the bottom right. The lower left triangular image, showing the Webb Space Telescope version of the model in infrared light, depicts the pillars in bright orange to red to brown, on a deep blue background. The upper right triangular image, showing the Hubble Space Telescope version of the model in visible light, represents the pillars as a darker, more opaque brown, on a lighter greenish-blue background. In both halves of the mosaic, the pillars are surrounded by a blueish-green glow.

The Pillars of Creation and the Interplay of Stars and Dust

This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 or M16) and the various ways that stars and dust are intertwined in the process of star formation. In developing the contextual story and the three-dimensional model, the video...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

3D Model Credit

NASA’s Universe of Learning, Leah Hustak (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI)

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