New Version of Hubble's "Pillars Of Creation"

[Telecaster]

Released as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the Hubble telescope:

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2015/01/image/a/

A higher res image with a somewhat different color palette compared to the 1995 original.

BTW, move up a directory level (delete the final "a/" in the link above) for thumbnails linking to all the newly-released images.

-Dave-

[Telecaster]

And here's a color/tonal interpretation of what a section of the Pillars looks like in the near-infrared spectrum (precise wavelength range unspecified), also via Hubble. Check out the link in the previous post for gorgeous hi-res JPEG and TIFF versions.

-Dave-

[bill t.]

Thanks for that!  A lot of analogies to the differences in how early version of Lightroom handled by old D2X images, versus Lightroom 5.  Post Processing marches on!

Interesting how little the relative positions of gas versus background stars has changed in that time.  We're talking large scale landscape work here.  But there do seem to be a few minor changes in position in a few places

[Alan Klein]

Reminds us how infinitesimal we all really are.

[Telecaster]

Interesting how little the relative positions of gas versus background stars has changed in that time. We're talking large scale landscape work here. But there do seem to be a few minor changes in position in a few places.

Yeah. From the news release:

"By comparing the 1995 and 2014 pictures, astronomers…noticed a lengthening of a narrow jet-like feature that may have been ejected from a newly forming star. The jet looks like a stream of water from a garden hose. Over the intervening 19 years, this jet has stretched farther into space, across an additional 60 billion miles, at an estimated speed of about 450,000 miles per hour."

Given that the Pillars are ~5 light years across and ~6500 light years away, ~60 billion miles of travel in 19 years doesn't amount to much. Also given that the distance & speed mentioned are estimates, and don't quite match up if you do the math, we're still talking about a pathetic 100–125 miles (165–210 kilometers) per second.   

-Dave-

[bill t.]

I just downloaded the 65mb version.  It's a lot more awesome than it is pretty, to be truthful.  Maybe I'll print up a globular cluster or galaxy or planetary nebula some time, there all right there on NASA servers for the taking.

Perhaps in five billion years the residents of a planet around the star forming those jets will look through their telescopes and admire the pretty planetary nebula that used to be us.  Everything I ever knew about Photoshop and mounting inkjet prints will be lost, to put it all in perspective.  Best to not worry oneself with such things, and rather focus on what's for dinner.

[Torbjörn Tapani]

Bill where did you find a 65 Mb version?

[bill t.]

Down at the bottom of the page there are 9 thumbnails arranged left to right, each about 1 cm square.  I clicked on the second one from the left, which took me to a page a link labeled "Highest Quality Download Options."

Or click here.

[Torbjörn Tapani]

Excellent, thank you!