In 1995, less than 2 years after astronauts installed a device to correct the Hubble Space Telescope’s blurry vision, NASA released a picture that captivated millions. In it, eerie blue-green pillars of gas and dust rise up like stalagmites in a cave. In a glimpse of the universe that’s both science and art, a team of Arizona astronomers captured what they thought were nests brimming with stellar embryos.
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