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Keyword: iras20324

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  • Astronomy Picture of the Day -- IRAS 20324: Evaporating Protostar

    09/04/2013 4:04:22 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 12 replies
    NASA ^ | September 04, 2013 | (see photo credit)
    Explanation: Will this caterpillar-shaped interstellar cloud one day evolve into a butterfly-shaped nebula? No one is sure. What is sure is that IRAS 20324+4057, on the inside, is contracting to form a new star. On the outside, however, energetic winds are blowing and energetic light is eroding away much of the gas and dust that might have been used to form the star. Therefore, no one is sure what mass the resulting star will have, and, therefore, no one knows the fate of this star. Were the winds and light to whittle the protostar down near the mass of the...