Enshrouded deep within a gaseous cloud,
the once-hidden features of this young and
illusive protostar have been revealed by
the James Webb Space Telescope.
Protostars like these that are still cocooned in a
dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they
become full-fledged stars.
At only about 100,000 years old,
it is at the earliest stage of star formation,
and doesn't yet generate its own energy
through nuclear fusion of hydrogen.
Its shape while mostly spherical, is also unstable,
taking the form of a small, hot, and puffy cloud of gas
somewhere between 20 and 40% the mass of our own Sun.
Its signature hour-glass shape has helped to
provide insight into the beginnings of a new star
at the precipice of a long and dynamic life ahead.
The region's most prevalent features,
vibrant blue and orange clouds in this representative-color
infrared image, outline cavities created as material
shoots away from the to-be star and collides with surrounding matter.
These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region
are only visible in infrared light,
making it an ideal target for two of
Webb's powerful scientific instruments.
The Near Infrared Camera, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument.
The colors themselves are due to layers of dust
between Webb and the clouds.
Blue areas show where the dust is thinnest.
The thicker the layer of dust, the less blue light is able to escape,
creating rich pockets of orange.
As it continues to gather mass, its core gradually compresses
and gets closer to stable nuclear fusion.
The surrounding molecular cloud is made up of
dense layers of dust and gas being drawn to the center,
where the protostar resides.
As the material falls in, it spirals around the center.
This creates a dense disk of material,
known as an accretion disk, which feeds material to the protostar.
As it gains more mass and compresses further,
the temperature of its core will rise,
eventually reaching the threshold for nuclear fusion to begin.
Webb also reveals filaments of
molecular hydrogen that have been shocked as the
protostar ejects material away from it.
Shocks and turbulence inhibit the formation of new stars,
which would otherwise form all throughout the cloud.
As a result, the protostar dominates the space,
taking much of the material for itself.
"WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE"
"NASA" Meatball appears with two high-pitched beeps.