Movies from Hubble Show the Changing Faces of Infant Stars

1. How do stars form?

Stars form in clouds of gas and dust that collect into a swirling disk. Outflows of gas, like the bubbles and jets seen in these images, occur when some of the material feeding the infant star from the surrounding disk is diverted away by the star's magnetic field and accelerated out its magnetic poles. These outflows are often squeezed into narrow jets that can extend many light-years away from the star. Such outflows are a common and natural result of stellar birth.