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Pillars of Creation Destroyed

Posted by kdawson on from the eat-your-heart-out-Hercules dept.

anthemaniac writes with news about the Pillars of Creation, an iconic structure in the Eagle Nebula some 7,000 light-years distant. The Hubble Space Telescope's image of this structure is one of the most widely recognized astronomy images ever captured. Now a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggests that the pillars probably toppled 6,000 years ago. From the article: "Astronomers think [a] supernova's shock wave knocked the pillars down about 6,000 years ago. But because light from that region of the sky takes 7,000 years to reach us, the majestic pillars will appear intact to observers on Earth for another 1,000 years or so.'"

19 of 364 comments (clear)

  1. Ah ha! by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    Astronomers think [a] supernova's shock wave knocked the pillars down about 6,000 years ago.

    Just as the the Earth was being created!

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Ah ha! by bladesjester · · Score: 2, Funny

      for the MtG geeks out there (I haven't played in years, but still) =]

      Pillars of Creation
      Artifact
      Casting Cost: 3
      1T: Sacrifice Pillars of Creation, put one Earth Token into play. Treat Earth Token as a land which produces either W, R, B, Bk, or G

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    2. Re:Ah ha! by AndroidCat · · Score: 4, Funny

      They weren't destroyed, just modded down. Set your telescopes to view -1.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    3. Re:Ah ha! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      DECALOGUE, n. A series of commandments, ten in number --just enough to permit an intelligent selection for observance, but not enough to embarrass the choice. Following is the revised edition of the Decalogue, calculated for this meridian.

      • Thou shalt no God but me adore:
        'Twere too expensive to have more.
      • No images nor idols make For Robert Ingersoll to break.
      • Take not God's name in vain;
        select A time when it will have effect.
      • Work not on Sabbath days at all,
        But go to see the teams play ball.
      • Honor thy parents.
        That creates For life insurance lower rates.
      • Kill not, abet not those who kill;
        Thou shalt not pay thy butcher's bill.
      • Kiss not thy neighbor's wife,
        unless Thine own thy neighbor doth caress
      • Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete Successfully in business.
        Cheat.
      • Bear not false witness --that is low
        -- But "hear 'tis rumored so and so."
      • Cover thou naught that thou hast not
        By hook or crook, or somehow, got.
    4. Re:Ah ha! by dc29A · · Score: 2, Funny

      You mean they got plutoed? ;)

    5. Re:Ah ha! by mollymoo · · Score: 3, Funny

      Thanks for the new sig!

      --
      Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven' - BBC News
    6. Re:Ah ha! by StrongAxe · · Score: 2, Funny

      The earth is actually older than 6,000 years.

      Yes, according to Archbishop Ussher's calculations, it is 6011 ;)

    7. Re:Ah ha! by bdonalds · · Score: 2, Funny

      "but we do know that it has been roughly 6,000 years since Adam & Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden"

      We do?

      --
      The most important thing to do in your life is to not interfere with somebody else's life. -FZ
  2. Bummer by CaptainNerdCave · · Score: 3, Funny

    that's it, pack up the space program, nothing left to see out there

  3. If you lived in the Eagle Nebula by andy314159pi · · Score: 5, Funny

    There was a gimmicky sign left by the pillars of creation:

    If you lived in the Eagle Nebula, you'd be destroyed by now.

  4. topple by Feyr · · Score: 4, Funny

    i find the idea that anything in space can "topple" or "fall down" highly amusing

    some of these reporters need to check their gravity :)

  5. Proper Time Travel Grammar by Peter+Trepan · · Score: 5, Funny

    They willan on-have collapsen.

    --

    Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.

  6. Re:Bad use of "already" by baldass_newbie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, this is a *ahem* perfect use of the pluperfect tense.

    --
    The opposite of progress is congress
  7. Cake. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This article takes the cake! This has to be the oldest story I've seen posted on Slashdot!

  8. Re:Cool... hope it didn't cost too much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    HEY! Stop wasting time posting messages on the internet and get back to work on your urgent energy research!

  9. Re:Bad use of "already" by nacturation · · Score: 5, Funny

    So if I fart and you're 100 meters away, will you say that I haven't yet farted because it's outside of your smell cone?

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  10. Re:Bad use of "already" by Lectrik · · Score: 3, Funny
    Are you sure you knew which post I was replying to?


    As a guess the one your posted is childed to?

    But since you neglected to quote anything and I'm not allowed to read minds while off the clock, it's only a rough estimate.
    --
    --- As to make my comment seem, by comparison, more intelegent... doodie doodie doodie poop poop poop!
  11. Re:Bad use of "already" by mcvos · · Score: 4, Funny
    So if I fart and you're 100 meters away, will you say that I haven't yet farted because it's outside of your smell cone?

    I'm afraid the speed of fart is not a fundamental constant of our space-time continuum.

  12. You don't need to change it, its +6 by TheAxeMaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sorry for the apparent magnitude joke...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Nebula