Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Fri Nov 18 2022 02:14:40

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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

                         The Protostar within L1527
            Image Credit: Science - NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NIRCam
     Processing - Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI),
                            Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

   Explanation: 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 young stellar object. Viewed nearly edge-on and a little
   larger than our Solar System, the disk ultimately supplies material to
   the 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 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 Taurus star-forming region.
   Webb's NIRCam image spans about 0.3 light-years.

                        Tomorrow's picture: moonshot
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

.