Space

James Webb Telescope Captures Space Butterfly

The images don’t depict a monarch or a swallowtail, but they do show a glowing protostar. By Wyatt Williams • 3 days ago

( NASA )

NASA released images of a butterfly in space this week.

The images captured with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope don’t depict a monarch or a swallowtail, but they do show a protostar whose official name is “IRAS 04302+224.” That name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, unfortunately.

Because the young growing star and planet forming disc around it are surrounded by a pair of gauzy “reflection nebulae” on either side, the formation has been nicknamed the Butterfly Star.

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