James Webb Captures Incredible 122MP Photo of the Pillars of Creation

James Webb Captures Incredible 122MP Photo of the Pillars of Creation

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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or Webb) has captured a massive and stunningly detailed photo of the Pillars of Creation, a celestial region that gives birth to new stars.

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The 122-megapixel photo was captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and is a close-up view of a subset of the Eagle Nebula, which lies 6,500 light-years away from Earth.

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This particular region was first captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 (and again in 2014).

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The European Space Agency (ESA) says that it is a popular subject and not only has it been imaged by Hubble, but also by other world-class observatories like the Herschel Telescope.

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Webb’s imaging system is the most advanced that has ever captured the Pillars of Creation — significantly more advanced than that of Hubble — and the image it has created will help researchers update their models of star formation because they are now able to see more precise details of star populations as well as the amount of gas and dust in the region.

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