Dictionary of Space Concepts

Short Definition

The Pillars of Creation are a part of the Eagle Nebula that is located in constellation Serpens. They became popular when Hubble Telescope took first picture of them in 1995. The Pillars of Creation since then were revisited by various telescopes on multiple occasions throughout the years.

Detailed Definition
The Pillars of Creation are located 6,500 light years away from Earth and are part of a much bigger formation called Eagle Nebula. The pillars are only between 4 and 5 light years long, meanwhile the nebula they are located in stretches 70 to 55 light years long. Even though the nebula was discovered as early as 1745 by Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, the towers were captured first in 1995 by Hubble Telescope. The Pillars of Creation were photographed later on multiple occasions by different telescopes. Most recently, it was observed by the James Webb Telescope, giving us the first picture of them in infrared light.
The pillars became well known due to their distinguish features. The towers resemble buttes in the desert, which gives them a unique look that feels familiar to what we already know from the Earth’s scenery. Essentially, they are made out of dens hydrogen particles and gas. In the pictures of pillars, we can also see newborn stars that caste ultraviolet light.

Etymology
The name “Pillars of Creation” was inspired by a phrase used in “The Condescension of Christ” written by Charles Spurgeon in 1857.

Sample Sentence(s)

In Pillars of Creation, we can see new stars being formed.

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages

French
Piliers de la création

German
Säulen der Schöpfung

Italian
Pilastri della Creazione

Polish
Filary Stworzenia

Swedish
Skapelsens pelare

Links to Videos/Articles:

• NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (2018), The Pillars of Creation, Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/the-pillars-of-creation

• Prakash, P. (2022), All about the Pillars of Creation, recently captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/all-about-the-pillars-of-creation-recently-pictured-by-the-james-webb-space-telescope/article66040094.ece

• Hubblesite (n.d.), Eagle Nabula ‘Pillars of Creation’, Retrieved from https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/3862-Image?keyword=eagle

• NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI (2022), Pillars of Creation (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Image), Retrieved from https://esawebb.org/images/pillarsofcreation_composite/

• ESA (2022), Hubble and Webb showcase the Pillars of Creation (side by side), Retrieved from https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/10/Hubble_and_Webb_showcase_the_Pillars_of_Creation_side_by_side