Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

The dusty face of the Eagle Nebula and its surroundings are revealed in this infrared image based on data from NASA’s Wide Field Survey Explorer (WISE). This large star forming region is about 5,700 light years away and is most famous for the “Pillars of Creation” images from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. The WISE data, taken from its all-sky archive, reveals the entire structure of the nebula surrounding the pillars, which here can be seen as a faint yellow-green feature on the lower left side of the green ring.

Infrared light reveals not only stars, but the dust clouds that, in visible light, are completely dark and hidden from view. And while the WISE view of the “Pillars” is not as sharp as the latest images from Webb, its unrestricted field of view allows us to explore the full boundaries of the extended nebula around it. WISE’s data archives will be a critical tool astronomers will use for decades to come.

The data used in this image came from WISE’s primary mission in 2009-2011. Blue and cyan are used to represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 & 4.6 microns, while green and red display longer wavelengths of 12 and 22 microns, respectively.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2022-01

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Use Policy: Public Domain