File:NASA's Chandra, Webb Combine for Arresting Views (Pillars of Creation) (52920269941).jpg

What do you get when you combine X-ray, infrared, and optical data? These gorgeous views showcase star cluster NGC 346, spiral galaxies NGC 1672 and Messier 74, and the Pillars of Creation (Eagle Nebula) in ways we could never see with just our eyes. The composite images here combine data from the Webb, Chandra, Hubble, Spitzer, XMM-Newton, and ESO telescopes.

Learn more about what each image shows: s.si.edu/chandrawebb2

View variations of this image by wavelength here: chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/chandrawebb2/more.html

Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand

This image: The Eagle Nebula, also called M16, and often referred to as the "Pillars of Creation." Here, tall columns of gray gas and dust emerge from the bottom edge of the image, stretching toward our upper right. Backed by dark orange mist, the cloudy gray columns are surrounded by dozens of soft, glowing, pink and purple dots; massive stars emitting enormous amounts of X-rays. The shapes, hints of movement, and colors in this composite rendering create a dream-like image. The misty orange background suggests a dusky sky, and the glowing pink and purple stars resemble fireflies. Churning with turbulent gas and dust, the columns lean to our right with small offshoots pointing in the same direction. These details evoke an image of yearning cloud creatures at dusk, pointing at something just out of frame.