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/