The Pillars of Creation in a brand new light

By Brendan Byrne

Published November 3, 2022 at 9:44 AM EDT

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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope made the Pillars of Creation famous with its first image in 1995, but revisited the scene in 2014 to reveal a sharper, wider view in visible light, shown above at left. A new, near-infrared-light view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, at right, helps us peer through more of the dust in this star-forming region. The thick, dusty brown pillars are no longer as opaque and many more red stars that are still forming come into view.Photo: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

The Pillars of Creation image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope has captivated space fans for decades.

Now, we’re getting a fresh new look at this cosmic nursery thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope.

We’ll hear from Florida Tech's Eric Perlman about this stunning new set of images and how JWST will continue to blow our cosmic minds.

Then, from birth to mid-life crisis: how can you tell the age of stars? Turns out, it’s really difficult. But researchers at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University like Terry Oswalt are hoping to shed some light on a star’s age by watching how fast they spin. We'll revisit a conversation from May 2021 about that research.

Uncovering our cosmic history -- that’s ahead on Are We There Yet?, here on 90.7 WMFE news.