Pillars of Creation (NIRCam Compass Image)
About This Image
Caption
This image of the Pillars of Creation, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. It lies within the Eagle Nebula, which is also known as Messier 16 (M16).
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes 2 years for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers. The field of view shown in this image is approximately 8 light-years across.
This image shows near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
About The Object
- Object Name
- M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611
- Object Description
- Emission Nebula
- R.A. Position
- 18:18:48.17
- Dec. Position
- -13:48:26.03
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Distance
- 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs)
- Dimensions
- Image is approximately 8 light-years across.
About The Data
- Data Description
- This image was created from JWST data from proposal: 2739 (K. Pontoppidan)
- Instrument
- JWST>NIRCam
- Exposure Dates
- 14 Aug 2022
- Filters
- F090W, F187N, F200W, F335M, F444W, F470N
About The Image
- Color Info
- These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample different infrared 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: Purple: F090W, Blue: F187N, Cyan: F200W, Yellow: F335M, Orange: F444W, Red: F470N
About The Object
- Object Name
- A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
- Object Description
- The type of astronomical object.
- R.A. Position
- Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
- Dec. Position
- Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
- Constellation
- One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
- Distance
- The 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.
- Dimensions
- The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
- Data Description
- Proposal: 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.
- Instrument
- The science instrument used to produce the data.
- Exposure Dates
- The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
- Filters
- The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
- Color Info
- A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Pre-footer
Inbox Astronomy
Sign up to receive the latest news, images, and discoveries about the universe:
Contact our News Team
Ask the News Team
Contact our Outreach Office
Ask the Outreach Office