APOD 3.5

This odd looking dust cloud formation lies 1,500 light years away in the Orion B molecular cloud complex. This Young Stellar Object (YSO), otherwise known as a protostar, is forming a particle beam containing electrons and protons that are being jetted out of the protostar at hundreds of kilometers a second. This occurrence happens frequently, but is rarely viewed by astronomers because this stage in star formation only lasts a few thousand years. Since star formation was a topic which we just concluded in class, I figured I should use this as a benchmark for the end of the chapter.