Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2020 May 6

                      LDN 1471: A Windblown Star Cavity
     Image Credit: Hubble, NASA, ESA; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt

   Explanation: What is the cause of this unusual parabolic structure?
   This illuminated cavity, known as LDN 1471, was created by a newly
   forming star, seen as the bright source at the peak of the parabola.
   This protostar is experiencing a stellar outflow which is then
   interacting with the surrounding material in the Perseus Molecular
   Cloud, causing it to brighten. We see only one side of the cavity --
   the other side is hidden by dark dust. The parabolic shape is caused by
   the widening of the stellar-wind blown cavity over time. Two additional
   structures can also be seen either side of the protostar, these are
   known as Herbig-Haro objects, again caused by the interaction of the
   outflow with the surrounding material. What causes the striations on
   the cavity walls, though, remains unknown. The featured image was taken
   by NASA and ESA's Hubble Space Telescope after an original detection by
   the Spitzer Space Telescope.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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