This is a segment from my album «Pillars of Creation», dedicated to the nebula of the same name in the constellation Serpens. The photograph of it taken by the Hubble Space Telescope became iconic; for at least two decades, it epitomized the visual concept of "outer space" in the collective human imagination. The "Pillars" also serve as a striking example of "cosmic architecture" — after all, we relate everything to our earthly experience of "creation." What do we create on Earth? We build homes, skyscrapers, and palaces. And look — there are skyscrapers and palaces in space, too. In the "Pillars of Creation", there are three distinct structures (though some count as many as four of these interstellar formations). They are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, and unique in their contours — truly unforgettable, and impossible to mistake for anything else...
Few people realize that the "Pillars of Creation" constitute a central yet very small part of a much larger nebula known to astronomers as the Eagle Nebula — also designated M16 in Charles Messier's catalog. Beyond the Pillars, M16 contains several other fascinating and beautiful nebular structures that are, at times, just as mesmerizing as the famous Pillars themselves.
One such cosmic sculpture — formed from starlight and cosmic dust— is the "Fairy" Nebula (sometimes referred to as the "Star Queen Nebula"); it, too, has been photographed by the Hubble Telescope on several occasions. The latest image dates back to 2025 — it is brand new — and it forms the basis of this video.
I didn't know this before, but it turns out that the term "Pillar" has taken root in astronomical terminology, and its use has expanded beyond the original nebulous fragment to describe characteristic (stalactite-like) gas and dust formations in the interstellar medium. Now in astronomical nomenclature, the “Fairy” (or “Star Queen”) nebula is also referred to as “Pillar V” — “Fifth Pillar”, which clearly refers it to the many nearby “Pillars of Creation” — it is a slightly distant relative. And indeed, it is also part of the large “Eagle Nebula”, located in the same area of the sky and at the same distance — 7500 light years. And in the Fairy Nebula, young stars are also now being born.
Upon grasping this revelation, I decided to create this video, which allows one to journey along the entire length of this colossal pillar of starlight — spanning ten light-years — from its very base, resembling a mermaid’s tail, to the radiant head of the "Star Queen."
Naturally, there can be only one musical accompaniment for this journey: music from the album «Pillars of Creation».
Original image:
Yours Andrey Klimkovsky
Video on Youtube:
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