Like a star in an hourglass ⏳ @NASAWebb captured the very start of a new star. The protostar is gathering mass and moving toward nuclear fusion. The dark band at the center is a disk of material about the size of our solar system! https://go.nasa.gov/3GnnFX0 #NASAExoplanets
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star.
what is the origin of the light on the two halfs of the "hourglass" (made of interstellar gas, I suppose)? Does it come 1/ from the proto-star that already achieved some sort of fusion; 2/ from the proto-star that is so hot it emits IR light that is then reflected; 3/ from the gas itself of the hourglass (if it's hot?); 4/ or from other sources?
Maia KB Chowdhury
in reply to NASA • • •Jen Newmeyer, CFRE
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