Hubble's Famous Eagle Nebula Photo Gets a High Definition Makeover

For the 25th birthday of the space telescope, NASA + ESA/Hubble have updated one of their most iconic images.

by Becky Chung

January 6, 2015, 5:00pm

Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation,

NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team. Image via

For the 25th birthday of the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers at NASA and ESA/Hubble have recaptured the stalagmite-like whirls of interstellar dust of the Eagle Nebula in stunning detail and clarity. Taken with Hubble’s Wild Field Camera 3, the above high quality image shows the nebula's “Pillars of Creation,”—a place where stars are born—as seen in visible light, with twice the resolution of the original image that its predecessor took back in 1995. The second image, below, shows the structures as seen in infrared light, a view that sweeps away the ghostly gas clouds and unveils the baby stars nestled within. With these new visuals, astronomers hope to measure how the pillar's structures have morphed over time, and how efficiently the nebula forms new stars.

Below, compare the iconic 1995 Eagle Nebula photo with the modern infrared-light image:

The original picture of M16, Eagle Nebula, NGC 6611 was taken on April 1, 1995 with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 by NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University).

"In this ethereal view the entire frame is peppered with bright stars and baby stars are revealed being formed within the pillars themselves. The ghostly outlines of the pillars seem much more delicate, and are silhouetted against an eerie blue haze," writes Hubble. The photo was taken by NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team.

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Dear Extraterrestrials: Sincerely, Earth.