This is not an ethereal landscape of time-forgotten tombs. Nor are these soot-tinged fingers reaching out. These pillars, flush with gas and dust, enshroud stars that are slowly forming over many millennia.

The Pillars of Creation scene was first captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.

Undersea corral? Enchanted castles? Space serpents? These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are actually columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images and reveals new details in the Pillars of Creation famous scene.

The Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCAM) offers this star-filled highly detailed landscape where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. (MIRCAM in depth)

The Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has snapped this eerie, extremely dusty new view of this familiar landscape, where the majority of the stars appear missing. Mid-infrared light excels at observing gas and dust in extreme detail. This is also unmistakable throughout the background. (MIRI in depth).

A draggable Webb MIRI/NIRCam & Hubble/Webb comparisons of Pillars Of Creation here:

For those who prefer video:

Wow! I find all these images a perfect inspiration for a happy Halloween 2022 🎃

Enjoy it!

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Featured Images: NASA