Hubble Captures First Baby Pictures of Newborn Stars
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed infant stars still wrapped in their cosmic nursery blankets, revealing how massive stars are born. The images pierce through thick dust clouds to show protostars in their earliest stages of life.
Scientists just captured baby pictures of stars being born, and the images are stunning.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope photographed newborn stars called protostars as they take their first breaths in space. These stellar infants are wrapped in thick blankets of dust so dense that normal light can't escape, but Hubble's infrared vision sees right through.
The telescope spotted jets of gas and dust shooting from these baby stars at incredible speeds. These jets punch holes through the surrounding clouds, letting light stream out and illuminate pink and white nebulae that look like cosmic nurseries.
One region called Cepheus A hosts multiple baby stars, including one massive protostar that produces half the area's brightness all by itself. The pink glow comes from hydrogen gas energized by intense ultraviolet radiation, while hidden stars light up the dust around them.
Another image shows star-forming region G033.91+0.11 right here in our Milky Way galaxy. Light from a hidden protostar bounces off surrounding gas and dust, creating a glittering reflection nebula at the center.
The most dramatic image features IRAS 20126+4104, a massive B-type protostar about 5,300 light-years away. This stellar giant blazes with incredible luminosity and heat, its powerful jets creating bright regions of glowing hydrogen.
Why This Inspires
These baby pictures solve a cosmic mystery. Scientists have long wondered exactly how massive stars form, those giants with more than eight times our Sun's mass. By studying these protostars and their outflow cavities, researchers can test theories about star formation and understand the structure, radiation, and dust content of stellar nurseries.
The images come from the SOFIA Massive Star Formation Survey, which focuses specifically on how the biggest stars come to life. Researchers look for connections between young star properties like outflows, environment, mass, and brightness to determine their evolutionary stage.
Every day, somewhere in our galaxy, new stars are being born in brilliant displays of cosmic creation. These images remind us that even in the vast darkness of space, spectacular new beginnings happen constantly.
The universe is still making stars, and now we can watch it happen.
More Images
Based on reporting by NASA
This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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