James Webb Space Telescope captures star-filled portrait of 'Pillars of Creation'

Updated: 4:50 PM EDT Oct 19, 2022

Video above: The James Webb Space Telescope provides ‘breathtaking’ new views of the Orion NebulaThe James Webb Space Telescope captured a highly detailed snapshot of the so-called Pillars of Creation, a vista of three looming towers made of interstellar dust and gas that's speckled with newly formed stars.The area, which lies within the Eagle Nebula about 6,500 light-years from Earth, had previously been captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995, creating an image deemed "iconic" by space observers.The fact that new stars are brewing within the eerie columns of cosmic dust and gas is what earned the area its name.The Webb telescope used its Near-Infrared Camera, also called NIRCam, to give astronomers a new, closer look at the region, glimpsing through some of the dusty plumes to reveal more infant stars that glow bright red."Newly formed protostars are the scene-stealers," reads a news release from the European Space Agency. "When knots with sufficient mass form within the pillars of gas and dust, they begin to collapse under their own gravity, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars."Since Hubble first imaged the area in the 1990s, astronomers have returned to the scene several times. The ESA William Herschel Telescope, for example, has also captured an image of the distinctive area of star birth, and Hubble created its own follow-up image in 2014. Each new instrument that sets its sights on the region gives researchers new insight, according to ESA."Along the edges of the pillars are wavy lines that look like lava. These are ejections from stars that are still forming. Young stars periodically shoot out jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust," according to a news release."This sometimes also results in bow shocks, which can form wavy patterns like a boat does as it moves through water," it reads. "These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, and will continue to form for millions of years."Webb is operated by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency. The $10 billion space observatory, launched last December, has enough fuel to continue snapping unprecedented images of the cosmos for about 20 years.Compared with the capabilities of other telescopes, the space observatory's powerful, massive mirror and infrared light technology can uncover faint, distant galaxies that are otherwise invisible — and Webb has the potential to enhance our understanding of the origins of the universe.Some of Webb's first images, which have been rolling out since July, have highlighted the observatory's capabilities to reveal previously unseen aspects of the cosmos, like star birth shrouded in dust.However, astronomers are also using the telescope's stable and precise image quality to illuminate our own solar system, and so far it has taken images of Mars, Jupiter and Neptune.

Customers at Starbucks will have new ways to pay for their drinks and food while still earning stars in their rewards program.

The changes to the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program begins Tuesday, September 15.

Customers have complained for years about the need to reload their Starbucks card in order to spend money at the coffee giant and earn loyalty stars. In order for customers to earn stars in their loyalty program, customers had to use a Starbucks card or gift card to pay. This forced regular customers to constantly reload their card to ensure there was enough money for their purchases.

Starting Tuesday, alternative ways to pay will be allowed and still allow members to earn stars for purchases. Alternative methods include debit/credit cards, cash, and select mobile wallets.

However, there’s a catch.

Customers paying with their Starbucks card or gift card will earn two loyalty stars per $1 spent, and those paying with alternative methods will earn one star per $1 spent.

Video above: The moon could be hiding vast deposits of future Earth fuelThis weekend is your next chance to catch the rare full blue moon before it again becomes "just a memory" until 2024.A blue moon is the third full moon in a season containing four full moons, rather than the usual three, according to Sky & Telescope magazine. The sky phenomenon has been a cultural muse for music, art and language — such as hit songs "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" and "Blue Moon," recorded by multiple artists including Elvis Presley, and the saying "once in a blue moon," which describes a rare event.NASA has reported the first recorded use of "blue moon" occurring in 1528, while Sky & Telescope has traced the term's origin back to the Maine Farmers' Almanac published in the 1930s."Introducing the 'Blue' Moon meant that the traditional full Moon names, such as the Wolf Moon and Harvest Moon, stayed in (sync) with their season," said Diana Hannikainen, Sky & Telescope's observing editor, in a news release. This was before late amateur astronomer and Sky & Telescope contributor Hugh Pruett incorrectly understood the definition in 1946, and ultimately helped circulate the popular definition of blue moon: the second full moon within a month, the last of which occurred on Halloween 2020, according to Sky & Telescope.People in the Americas will be able to see a nearly full moon Saturday night, before the true blue moon reaches its highest point in the sky early Sunday morning at 1:04 a.m. Eastern time, according to NASA. The moon will reach peak illumination at 8:02 a.m. Eastern time Sunday and appear close to full after dusk that day.The full blue moon, which happens about once every 2.7 years on average, won't actually appear blue, though — that only happens even more rarely, when "volcanic eruptions or forest fires send lots of smoke and fine dust into the atmosphere," according to Sky & Telescope.This moon has had many different names. The Maine Farmers' Almanac first published Native Americans' terms for the full moons in the 1930s, according to NASA — including the Algonquin tribes' "Sturgeon Moon," named after large fish that were more easily caught in the Great Lakes and other bodies of water during this time, and the "Green Corn Moon."The name of the August full moon differs across cultures, however. The Anishnaabe people refer to it as the "berry moon," while the Cherokee people call it the "drying up moon." For the Comanche people, August's full moon is the "summer moon." The Creek people know it as the "big harvest" moon. And the Hopi people call it the "moon of joyful."See all of the Native American names for this full moon on the Western Washington University Planetarium website.