Nebulae · Nebula · H II region
The Pillars of Creation in Hubble’s visible light and Webb’s near-infrared: the same pillars, two very different palettes.
Featured palette: Webb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022 (Sampled from this image)
#605564#1C2744#343C5A#764F45#957A70#495B84#C3B499
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; J. DePasquale, A. Koekemoer, A. Pagan (STScI).. · released 19 October 2022
About Eagle Nebula
The Eagle Nebula is a star-forming region whose dust columns are known as the Pillars of Creation.
| Classification | Nebula (H II region) |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | M16 |
| Distance | 7,000 light-yearsdistance stated by the image publisher · ESA/Hubble |
| Observed light (this view) | z (shown as purple), P-alpha (shown as blue), 2.0 μm (shown as cyan), PAH (shown as yellow), 4.44 μm (shown as orange), molecular hydrogen (shown as red) |
Why these colours?
Emission lines
Hubble’s 2014 view uses oxygen, hydrogen-alpha and sulfur filters; each line gets a visible colour.
From: Hubble visible-light view of the Pillars, 2014 Visible-light composite
Infrared
Webb’s near-infrared view shows the pillars as semi-transparent gas and dust, with colours assigned to infrared wavelengths.
From: Webb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022 Mapped non-visible data
Colour clusters describe pixels in an image; they cannot identify a mineral, a gas or a physical temperature. Shares of pixels describe the sampled region of the image, not the object’s surface.
Colours from selected views
Palettes sampled from identified images and regions, or calculated from a documented model. These values describe each image or model, not one permanent colour of Eagle Nebula.
Hubble visible-light view of the Pillars, 2014
Sampled from this image · Hubble visible-light view of the Pillars, 2014
#58585FRGB 88, 88, 95region average#435569RGB 67, 85, 10528% of the region#423844RGB 66, 56, 6825% of the region#6B5745RGB 107, 87, 6920% of the region#66777FRGB 102, 119, 12716% of the region#38191DRGB 56, 25, 298% of the region#A6B1A0RGB 166, 177, 1603% of the region
See where these colours came from
Webb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022
Sampled from this image · Webb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022
#605564RGB 96, 85, 100region average#1C2744RGB 28, 39, 6829% of the region#343C5ARGB 52, 60, 9026% of the region#764F45RGB 118, 79, 6914% of the region#957A70RGB 149, 122, 11213% of the region#495B84RGB 73, 91, 13213% of the region#C3B499RGB 195, 180, 1535% of the region
See where these colours came from
Creative palettes inspired by Eagle Nebula
A design derived from the selected representation. It is not a scientific colour measurement. Each colour keeps the sampled colour it was made from.
Pillars
Inspired by this object
#435569RGB 67, 85, 105from #435569#423844RGB 66, 56, 68from #423844#6B5745RGB 107, 87, 69from #6B5745#1C2744RGB 28, 39, 68from #1C2744#343C5ARGB 52, 60, 90from #343C5A#764F45RGB 118, 79, 69from #764F45
Hand-picked colours from both views of the pillars.
Explore the views
Hubble visible-light view of the Pillars, 2014Visible-light compositeWebb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022Mapped non-visible dataPick a colour from the image. Click or tap the picture to read a colour. Picked colours are yours, not catalogue samples.
No supported 3D model is available for this view. You can still inspect the source imagery and palette.
Use these colours
Every palette above opens in the palette generator. With JavaScript you can also add colours to your cosmic palette, save them, make a gradient or pattern, preview them in a design or a room (you choose which colour goes on which surface), check digital accessibility and export them. Each colour keeps the view and sample it came from.
Paint matches compare digital swatches for design inspiration. They are not physical equivalents of light from space. Edits create a new design palette. The original representation remains unchanged.
Questions about Eagle Nebula’s colours
Which image is the real colour?
Neither shows what the eye would see; both map filters to colours, and both are labelled with their filters.
Sources
- Hubble FAQs — image processing and colour — NASA
- New view of the Pillars of Creation — visible — ESA/Hubble
- Webb Takes a Stunning, Star-Filled Portrait of the Pillars of Creation (Cropped) — ESA/Webb
Image credits
- Hubble visible-light view of the Pillars, 2014: NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team. CC BY 4.0. Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 285e1f921b1fc258f48532e83dcfd30a7f9bcc704e1af9b0fa2c6468e31bc39d).
- Webb near-infrared view of the Pillars, 2022: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; J. DePasquale, A. Koekemoer, A. Pagan (STScI).. CC BY 4.0. Resized for the web from the publisher’s file (sha256 6ca9cbfda29e7db094e100bce9d7b4cdb01ff7896248c02742539262fca101ad).
Images were resized once for the web; colours were measured from the published files (k-means in OKLab, pcke-oklab-kmeans-1); calculated colours use the CIE 1931 2° observer. Facts last reviewed 25 October 2026. Catalogue pcke-cosmos-2026-10-25, page revision b9f8d3f8b633. No ESA, ESO or NASA endorsement is implied.