Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2022 November 18
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         The Protostar within L1527
    Image Credit: Science - [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]STScI, [7]NIRCam
     Processing - Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI),
                            Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

   Explanation: [8]The protostar within dark cloud L1527 is a mere 100,000
   years old, still embedded in the cloud of gas and dust that feeds its
   growth. In this NIRCam image from the James Webb Space Telescope, the
   dark band at the neck of the infrared nebula is a thick disk that
   surrounds the [9]young stellar object. Viewed nearly edge-on and a
   little larger than our Solar System, the disk ultimately supplies
   material to the [10]protostar while hiding it from Webb's direct
   infrared view. The nebula itself is seen in stunning detail though.
   Illuminated by infrared light from the protostar, the hourglass-shaped
   nebula's cavities are created as [11]material ejected in the
   star-forming process plows through the surrounding medium. As the
   protostar gains mass it will eventually become a full-fledged star,
   collapsing and igniting nuclear fusion in its core. A likely analog to
   our own Sun and Solar System in their early infancy, the protostar
   within dark cloud L1527 lies some 460 light-years distant in the
   [12]Taurus star-forming region. [13]Webb's NIRCam image spans about 0.3
   light-years.

                        Tomorrow's picture: moonshot
     __________________________________________________________________

      [14]< | [15]Archive | [16]Submissions | [17]Index | [18]Search |
   [19]Calendar | [20]RSS | [21]Education | [22]About APOD | [23]Discuss |
                                    [24]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2211/weic2219a.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://www.stsci.edu/
   7. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01FA0SZSEW1TZ51BHG0EGW2EZP
   8. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-055
   9. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020A%26A...633A.126B/abstract
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostar
  11. https://public.nrao.edu/news/protostar-serpens-alma/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170330.html
  13. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/055/01GGWCXTEXGJ0C3FWSCB3SDBV5
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221117.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221118
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221119.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/