🌌 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Trapezium: Teardrops in My Skies Credit:
Date: 1997-01-16

Explanation:
Sometimes the unexpected comes in a familiar
shape. In this recently released picture,
the seemingly familiar teardrop-shaped object just right of center
is actually an unusually situated disk of gas and dust.
In fact, the teardrop is about the size of our own Solar System
and is racing against time to condense and form planets. This
disk, however, is unfortunate enough to lie in the Trapezium,
which is also home to several immense, bright stars.
These bright stars emit light so powerful it boils away the gas
and dust in planet-forming disks.
Large Jupiter-like planets will probably
never form in this hostile environment, but it is currently unknown
whether Earth-like planets could
form and survive.







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