1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,277 Enshrouded deep within a gaseous cloud,  2 00:00:03,277 --> 00:00:05,160 the once-hidden features of this young and 3 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:07,307 illusive protostar have been revealed by 4 00:00:07,307 --> 00:00:09,558 the James Webb Space Telescope. 5 00:00:09,558 --> 00:00:12,000 Protostars like these that are still cocooned in a 6 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,720 dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they   7 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,643 become full-fledged stars. 8 00:00:16,643 --> 00:00:19,113 At only about 100,000 years old, 9 00:00:19,113 --> 00:00:21,417 it is at the earliest stage of star formation, 10 00:00:21,417 --> 00:00:23,502 and doesn't yet generate its own energy 11 00:00:23,502 --> 00:00:25,855 through nuclear fusion of hydrogen. 12 00:00:25,855 --> 00:00:29,430 Its shape while mostly spherical, is also unstable, 13 00:00:29,430 --> 00:00:32,920 taking the form of a small, hot, and puffy cloud of gas   14 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,762 somewhere between 20 and 40% the mass of our own Sun. 15 00:00:36,762 --> 00:00:38,840 Its signature hour-glass shape has helped to 16 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,704 provide insight into the beginnings of a new star 17 00:00:41,704 --> 00:00:44,880 at the precipice of a long and dynamic life ahead. 18 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,028 The region's most prevalent features, 19 00:00:47,028 --> 00:00:50,400 vibrant blue and orange clouds in this representative-color   20 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,656 infrared image, outline cavities created as  material 21 00:00:53,656 --> 00:00:58,675 shoots away from the to-be star and collides with surrounding matter. 22 00:00:58,675 --> 00:01:01,360 These blazing  clouds within the Taurus star-forming region   23 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,857 are only visible in infrared light, 24 00:01:03,857 --> 00:01:05,464 making it an ideal target for two of 25 00:01:05,464 --> 00:01:07,582 Webb's powerful scientific instruments.   26 00:01:07,582 --> 00:01:10,861 The Near Infrared Camera, and  the Mid-Infrared Instrument. 27 00:01:10,861 --> 00:01:13,567 The colors themselves are due to layers of dust 28 00:01:13,567 --> 00:01:15,645 between Webb and the clouds. 29 00:01:15,645 --> 00:01:17,880 Blue areas show where the dust is thinnest. 30 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,371 The thicker the layer of dust, the less blue light is  able to escape, 31 00:01:21,371 --> 00:01:23,820 creating rich pockets of orange. 32 00:01:23,820 --> 00:01:27,554 As it continues to gather mass, its core gradually  compresses 33 00:01:27,554 --> 00:01:30,000 and gets closer to stable nuclear fusion. 34 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,771 The surrounding molecular cloud is made up of 35 00:01:32,771 --> 00:01:36,104 dense layers of dust and gas being drawn to the center, 36 00:01:36,104 --> 00:01:38,153 where the protostar resides. 37 00:01:38,153 --> 00:01:41,760 As the material falls in, it spirals around the center.   38 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,142 This creates a dense disk of material, 39 00:01:44,142 --> 00:01:48,612 known as an accretion disk, which feeds material to the protostar. 40 00:01:48,612 --> 00:01:51,043 As it gains more mass and compresses  further, 41 00:01:51,043 --> 00:01:53,200 the temperature of its core will rise, 42 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:57,038 eventually reaching the threshold for nuclear fusion to begin. 43 00:01:57,038 --> 00:01:58,920 Webb also reveals filaments of 44 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,504 molecular hydrogen that have been shocked as the 45 00:02:01,504 --> 00:02:04,317 protostar ejects material away from it. 46 00:02:04,317 --> 00:02:07,503 Shocks and turbulence inhibit the formation of new stars,  47 00:02:07,503 --> 00:02:10,421 which would otherwise form all throughout the cloud. 48 00:02:10,421 --> 00:02:13,523 As a result, the protostar dominates the  space, 49 00:02:13,523 --> 00:02:19,551 taking much of the material for itself. 50 00:02:19,551 --> 00:02:23,237 "WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE" 51 00:02:23,237 --> 00:02:29,582 "NASA" Meatball appears with two high-pitched beeps.