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From NewScientistSpace.com:<ul type="square"><b>'Pillars of creation' destroyed by supernova</b><br /><br />The famous "pillars of creation" – clouds of dust and gas imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, are no more – a supernova blast wave has blown them apart. But their ghostly image will linger for another thousand years because of the time it takes for light to travel from them to Earth.<br /><br />The pillars have been astronomical icons since Hubble imaged them in 1995 (scroll down for Hubble image). They are part of a larger star-forming region called the Eagle Nebula, which lies 7000 light years away. That means we are seeing the pillars as they were 7000 years ago, when the light first left them.<br /><br />Now, an infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed a previously unseen supernova blast wave that was advancing towards the pillars at that time, threatening to ultimately sweep them away.<br /><br /><b>In tatters</b><br /><br />...<br /><br />Based on the cloud's position, the blast wave looked set to hit the pillars in 1000 years. Taking into account the 7000-year time lag for their light to reach the Earth, that means the pillars were actually destroyed 6000 years ago, Flagey says. <br /><br />We will not see their obliteration from Earth for another 1000 years, however.<br />... (More at the link)</ul>And the picture from Spitzer Space Telescope. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p>***</p> </div>