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Pillars of Creation in Visible and Near-Infrared (Hubble)

Side-by-side comparison of the Pillars of Creation as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. At left is the visible-light view, and at right is the near-infrared-light view.

These are two Hubble images of the "Pillars of Creation" in the Eagle Nebula. The left image captures a visible light view, showing an opaque cloud of gas and dust. On the right, near-infrared light penetrates much of the gas and dust, revealing stars behind the nebula and hidden away inside the pillars.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    18h 18m 48.17s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -13° 48' 26.03"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Serpens
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    Data of M16 were obtained from the HST proposal 13926, P.I. Z. Levay, J. Mack, C. Christian, L. Frattare, M. Livio, S. Meyett, M. Mutchler, and J. Sokol (STScI/AURA), and K. Noll (NASA/GSFC).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFC3/UVIS (left) and HST>WFC3/IR (right)
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    September 2014
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    WFC3/UVIS: F502N ([O III]), F657N (H-alpha + [N II]), and F673N ([S II]) WFC3/IR: F110W (YJ) and F160W (H)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Emission Nebula
  • Release Date
    January 5, 2015
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Project

Downloads

  • Full Res, 1140 × 776
    png (2.16 MB)
Side-by-side comparison of the Pillars of Creation as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. At left is the visible-light view, and at right is the near-infrared-light view.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: WFC3/UVIS Image of M16: Blue: F502N ([O III]) Green: F657N (Hα + [N II]) Red: F673N ([S II]) WFC3/IR Image of M16: Blue: F110W (YJ) Yellow: F160W (H)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Project

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