Science is wild.
Pillars of creation as seen by Webb space telescope.
- Thread starter hmt5000
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Science is wild.
Looks like pepperoniMy favorite photo from the Webb
These towering tendrils of cosmic dust and gas sit at the heart of M16, or the Eagle Nebula. The aptly named Pillars of Creation, featured in this stunning Hubble image, are part of an active star-forming region within the nebula and hide newborn stars in their wispy columns.
Although this is not Hubble’s first image of this iconic feature of the Eagle Nebula, it is the most detailed. The blue colors in the image represent oxygen, red is sulfur, and green represents both nitrogen and hydrogen. The pillars are bathed in the scorching ultraviolet light from a cluster of young stars located just outside the frame. The winds from these stars are slowly eroding the towers of gas and dust.
Stretching roughly 4 to 5 light-years, the Pillars of Creation are a fascinating but relatively small feature of the entire Eagle Nebula, which spans 70 by 55 light-years. The nebula, discovered in 1745 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, is located 7,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens. With an apparent magnitude of 6, the Eagle Nebula can be spotted through a small telescope and is best viewed during July. A large telescope and optimal viewing conditions are necessary to resolve the Pillars of Creation.
Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Although this is not Hubble’s first image of this iconic feature of the Eagle Nebula, it is the most detailed. The blue colors in the image represent oxygen, red is sulfur, and green represents both nitrogen and hydrogen. The pillars are bathed in the scorching ultraviolet light from a cluster of young stars located just outside the frame. The winds from these stars are slowly eroding the towers of gas and dust.
Stretching roughly 4 to 5 light-years, the Pillars of Creation are a fascinating but relatively small feature of the entire Eagle Nebula, which spans 70 by 55 light-years. The nebula, discovered in 1745 by the Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, is located 7,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens. With an apparent magnitude of 6, the Eagle Nebula can be spotted through a small telescope and is best viewed during July. A large telescope and optimal viewing conditions are necessary to resolve the Pillars of Creation.
Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
I linked this episode of NOVA about the Webb Telescope and everything surrounding it's launch in the initial thread when we got the first images, but it's worth posting again.
That’s a reverse Shocker, friends.
So let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets? 
Could have been post of the year, but you gave your self your own laughing emoji.Or Ole Coach Chubbs
Yeah. Space is big. I don't care what anyone says. I stand by that belief.So let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets?
I think they would be galaxies with millions of suns. Each dot is just so far away that it appears as a single dot.So let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets?
Given your avatar I figured you'd say that. Now we know where your home planet is. We look forward to invading your world in 3.2 billion years.
I’m aware it’s a pepperoni. I was. Still am.
---So let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets?
No. In those photos, the "points" you see are all stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. There are approximately 200-400 billion stars in the Milky Way, depending on how many low mass stars there are, which is uncertain.
In the observable universe there may be as many as 3 trillion galaxies, some smaller than our Milky Way & some much larger. At this time of the year, if you have dark skies, you can see with your own eyes (no optical aid) the Great Galaxy in Andromeda, also know as Messier 31. With binoculars, it's an easy target. Messier 31 is also a very large galaxy with maybe 500 billion stars & it's headed for a collision with the Milky Way in about 4 billion years.
Messier 31
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Bring it on then. You don't want the smoke from our Galaxy. We run this *****.
It hurts my brainSo let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets?
Are we supposed to ignore that Minecraft World is apart of that scale as if it's a real thing? I was like, "okay, this is neat...there's Earth, the rest of the planets, Asia, Minecraft World..."
I played this Bill Nye video for my kids and thought it was really good. I saw a clip of a European town that had a big round art piece in the city center and a teacher calculated the scale and made a model. The “sun” was about 20 feet in diameter and they had to use a bus to get to the planets. Keep in mind that our solar system is smaller and denser than most.
Love tracking with my telescopes. Been waiting on the JWT for so long. Each delay was a *****. Never thought it would actually happen.
And the more we can see the more the Fermi paradox looks to be answered. We’re probably alone.
And the more we can see the more the Fermi paradox looks to be answered. We’re probably alone.
I wish I still had my telescope. The judge took it from me after the neighbor milf kept complaining.
How do you draw that conclusion from what we've seen so far?
I just feel like as far as another civilization goes we should easily see some kind of foot print somewhere and there’s absolutely nothing. I just think everyone is assuming because of how vast and massive the universe is it’s got to be there but that’s got nothing to do with it imo. I have my own theory as to what we’re actually looking at and I believe it’s more spiritual anyway.
We should easily be able to find the signature by now. So far zero.
So let me get this straight: every one of those white dots is a star, which is a sun, which therefore has its own galaxy? Is that right? So every single one of those white dots is a galaxy? And that’s just one picture of a tiny spec of the universe? So that’s like a trillion planets?
Okay. That means that...our whole solar system...could be, like...one tiny atom in the fingernail of some other giant being!
This is too much!
That means...-one tiny atom in my fingernail could be---Could be one little...tiny universe.
Amazing to think about. Also of note, it’s why I hate when we cite a number of “how big” the universe is. We have no effing idea if it ends at all. We shouldn’t even apply time to the context because time is completely distorted in space. So just saying planet (A) is “so and so light years” away is not even a good guess imo. We don’t know how far it is at all. Humans apply earthly arrogance to the science there’s reason for it. Just say “in a perfect travel without interruption it appears to be X light years away” or whatever. But we literally think we can understand what we’re looking at and we can’t.
there’s a lot of information out there about NASA using this type of language as a means to wow for more research money. Much of the conspiracy nonsense is just that, but that idea actually makes a lot of sense in this context.
Yup exactly we could feed a million poor kids but instead we spend it on a few dude who want to speculate about “light years” and stuff that doesn’t make sense and has to be spacesplained to us
What if this space stuff is like Adam and Eve and the apple and these space dudes need to let it go
I bet those other galaxies sell beer for football games and have grass surfaces 
Also the SEC would dominate them
Also the SEC would dominate them
Yea. Neil D Tyson was saying that Its so big that all the light hasn't even gotten to us yet. So there could be tons more out there that we just can't even see.
What kind of footprint could we possibly see or detect from planets that are literally light years away?
If we were on another planet in our own solar system, would be even be able to detect signs of life on earth?
If you can’t conclude the realization that there are more than zillions of other planets and probably significantly more we can’t even see probably means there is no other life in the universe I don’t know what to tell you.