Explanation:
Massive star IRS 4 is beginning to spread its wings.
Born only about 100,000 years ago,
material streaming out from this newborn star
has formed the nebula dubbed Sharpless 2-106 Nebula (S106),
pictured above.
A large disk of
dust and gas orbiting
Infrared Source 4 (IRS 4), visible in dark red near the image center,
gives the nebula an hourglass or
butterfly shape.
S106 gas near IRS 4 acts as an
emission nebula
as it emits light after being
ionized, while
dust
far from
IRS 4 reflects light from the central star and so acts as a
reflection nebula.
Detailed inspection of
images like the above image has
revealed hundreds of low-mass
brown dwarf stars lurking in
the
nebula's gas.
S106 spans about 2 light-years and lies about 2000 light-years away toward the
constellation of
the Swan (Cygnus).
