An Energetic Protostar

NASA, ESA, K. Stapelfeldt, G. Kober

Day 18 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: an energetic protostar. FS Tau is a multi-star system made up of FS Tau A, the bright starlike object near the middle of the image, and FS Tau B (Haro 6-5B), the bright object to the far right that is partially obscured by a dark, vertical lane of dust. The young objects are surrounded by the softly illuminated gas and dust of this stellar nursery. The system is only about 2.8 million years old, very young for a star system.