A 3D rendering of the "Pillars of Creation" has been accomplished using the MUSE instrument for ESO's VLT.
A ScienceDaily article provides info:
Using the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have produced the first complete three-dimensional view of the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, Messier 16. The new observations demonstrate how the different dusty pillars of this iconic object are distributed in space and reveal many new details -- including a previously unseen jet from a young star. Intense radiation and stellar winds from the cluster's brilliant stars have sculpted the dusty Pillars of Creation over time and should fully evaporate them in about three million years.
The original NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the famous Pillars of Creation was taken two decades ago and immediately became one of its most famous and evocative pictures. Since then, these billowing clouds, which extend over a few light-years,* have awed scientists and the public alike.
Here is a NASA article on the Pillars with "High Definition" images from Hubble.
In an additional interesting factoid for the 25th anniversary of the launching of the Hubble Telescope, this article from phys.org details how the orbit differs from the ISS and the best places to see the Hubble as it orbits the Earth.
(Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Saturday May 02 2015, @09:26AM
The Pillars of Creation Will Disappear in a Cosmic Blink:
One way or another, the Pillars of Creation are toast. Based on new observations at the European Southern Observatory, these awe-inspiring structures have another 3 million years before their ghostly image fizzles away into cosmic nothingness. That’s a maximum lifespan for the pillars, because there’s a good chance they were already destroyed, over a thousand years ago.
http://gizmodo.com/the-pillars-of-creation-will-disappear-in-a-cosmic-blin-1701365611 [gizmodo.com]
Open access scientific paper on the death of the Pillars: http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1518/eso1518a.pdf [eso.org] PDF
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by CoolHand on Saturday May 02 2015, @12:59PM
these awe-inspiring structures have another 3 million years before their ghostly image fizzles away into cosmic nothingness. That’s a maximum lifespan for the pillars, because there’s a good chance they were already destroyed, over a thousand years ago.
While, this may be true, isn't it true of a lot of things which we optically look at in space? In human life-spans, instead of a cosmic time span, they will be around for the foreseeable future, I think.. :)
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(Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Saturday May 02 2015, @01:16PM
You are right. That article was related to the subject so, I included it.
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 3, Touché) by M. Baranczak on Saturday May 02 2015, @02:24PM
All I see is one lo-fi rendering.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 02 2015, @03:58PM
It's coming soon into a planetarium near to you...
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday May 03 2015, @04:42AM
Camelot! Or as Patsy said, "it's only a model." What I would like to know is where did they get the side view of the Eagle Nebula?