Decorative print of an image taken by the Hubble Telescope. © NASA
Pillars of Creation is the name of one of the most famous astronomical space images, photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in the Eagle Nebula, approximately 7,000 light years away.
The image was taken on 1 April 1995 by astronomers Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen from Arizona State University. The complete image was composed of 32 individual images taken by four separate cameras on the Hubble Telescope.
The false colours in the image are based on the molecular composition of the structures; for example, hydrogen is shown in green, sulphur in red and oxygen in blue.
The columns extend 4 light years into space and consist of interstellar matter. They are slowly eroding through photoevaporation, exposing young protostars with their planets at their tips.
