Bathed in scattered starlight, this glowing blue nebula in the Taurus Molecular Cloud cradles a trio of young stars—HP Tau, G2, and G3—and a newly forming protostar cloaked in a planet-building disc.
Captured by Hubble, this scene reveals a dynamic nursery just 480 light-years from Earth, where cosmic dust, gravity, and chaos are giving birth to future solar systems.
Triple Stars Light Up Taurus Nursery
This new reflection nebula. Unlike other nebulae that glow with their own energy, reflection nebulae shine by scattering light from nearby stars. This scattered light often gives them a soft, bluish glow, and GN 04.32.8 is no exception.
This glowing cloud is part of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, a rich star-forming region located about 480 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. It’s one of the closest and best places in the sky to observe newborn stars taking shape.
The soft glow of GN 04.32.8 comes from a trio of young stars at its heart, including the variable star V1025 Tauri at the very center of the image. One of the stars, HP Tauri, belongs to a special class known as T Tauri stars. These are energetic and restless stars in the earliest stages of their life. It’s no surprise to find them here, in the middle of a stellar nursery.
Astronomers believe the three stars—HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3—form a gravitationally bound triple system, making this region even more fascinating to study.
Edge-On Protostar Reveals Planet Secrets
Eagle-eyed viewers might notice the small, squashed, orange spot, just left of centre below the clouds of the nebula, that’s crossed by a dark line. This is a newly formed protostar, hidden in a protoplanetary disc that obstructs some of its light. Because the disc is edge-on to us, it’s an ideal candidate for study. Astronomers are using Hubble here to examine it closely, seeking to learn about the kinds of exoplanets that might be formed in discs like it.
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