“Trace the top pillar, which lands on the bright red star that sticks out from its bottom edge like a broomstick,” says NASA. “This star and its dusty shroud are larger than the size of our entire solar system.” We’d recommend downloading the full resolution uncompressed version (opens in new tab) of this terrifying Pillars of Creation image so you can dig into it in all its detail. Many people are calling it a creepy image, including NASA itself. One of the reasons this image is haunting has to do with the wavelengths of light and what the James Webb Space Telescope can record. It sees scenes in mid-infrared light, and while that can show where the dust is, it means the stars in the scene aren’t at bright enough wavelengths to show up. Instead, all we see are giant, looming pillars of gas and dust, only hinting at what’s actually inside them. If you want to keep up with the latest image releases, head over to the James Webb Space Telescope Gallery (opens in a new tab), where you can see all of Webb’s first images and learn more about what they depict. NASA will release new images at least every other week (opens in new tab). We’ll be reporting more James Webb Space Telescope (opens in new tab) images as they’re released, from the viewing angle of the subjects themselves. If you’re feeling inspired, why not try depth photography yourself (opens in new tab) and check out the best telescopes (opens in new tab) for watching the night sky at home?
