Over the course of millions of years, these Protostars settle down into a state of equilibrium,
becoming what is known as a main-sequence star.
Over the course of millions of years, these Protostars settle down into a state of equilibrium,
becoming what is known as a main sequence star.
The central area of RCW 38 is visible here as a bright, blue-tinted region,
an area inhabited by numerous very young stars and Protostars that are still in the process of forming.
Eventually, two of these stars either grazed each other or collided,
triggering a powerful eruption that launched other nearby Protostars and hundreds of giant streamers of dust
and gas into interstellar space at speeds greater than 150 kilometers per second.