Astronomy Picture of the Day

Portrait of RY Tauri


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Portrait of RY Tauri


Explanation:

A star emerges from its natal cloud of gas and
dust in this
tantalizing portrait
of RY Tauri, a
small stellar nursery
at the edge of the Taurus molecular cloud,
a mere 450 light-years away.

Illuminating a region that spans about 2/3 of a light-year,
the
youthful
, central star is
large,
cool
, and
known to vary
in brightness.

Still collapsing, in a few million years the
star's winds
will likely clear out the gas and dust clouds,
as it settles down to become a steady main sequence star like
the Sun.

What remains could well include a planetary
system
.

The image data for RY Tauri is
from the Gemini Observatory,
on Mauna Kea, Hawaii -- based on observations
proposed by
the Astronomy Club of Dorval, Quebec.




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