NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured an otherworldly image of the star-forming region Lupus 3, located about 500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. The eerie landscape appears to be filled with a misty, bluish-white gas that swirls throughout the region, while bright T Tauri stars shine at various points in the image.
In the lower-left corner of the image, a dark cloud of dust disrupts the otherwise glowing, nebulous landscape. This cloud is thought to be a remnant from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud that spawned multiple new stars.
T Tauri stars are young, actively forming stars that are in the process of contracting under gravity and becoming main sequence stars. These stars are typically less than 10 million years old and exhibit variations in brightness due to instabilities in their accretion disks or flares on their surfaces.
The study of T Tauri stars provides valuable insights into the star formation process, which is a complex and still somewhat mysterious phenomenon. By observing these young stars, astronomers can gain a better understanding of how stars form and evolve over time.
New images from Hubble are added daily between January 12-17, 2026, offering a glimpse into the dynamic world of star formation. Follow @NASAHubble on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest Hubble images and news.
In the lower-left corner of the image, a dark cloud of dust disrupts the otherwise glowing, nebulous landscape. This cloud is thought to be a remnant from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud that spawned multiple new stars.
T Tauri stars are young, actively forming stars that are in the process of contracting under gravity and becoming main sequence stars. These stars are typically less than 10 million years old and exhibit variations in brightness due to instabilities in their accretion disks or flares on their surfaces.
The study of T Tauri stars provides valuable insights into the star formation process, which is a complex and still somewhat mysterious phenomenon. By observing these young stars, astronomers can gain a better understanding of how stars form and evolve over time.
New images from Hubble are added daily between January 12-17, 2026, offering a glimpse into the dynamic world of star formation. Follow @NASAHubble on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest Hubble images and news.