Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features IRAS 04302, a young star wrapped in a massive planet-forming disc about 525 light-years away in the Taurus star-forming region. 

The young star sits deep in a dark cloud, hidden behind a veil of dusty gas. The material around it is raw fuel for planet formation. 

The birth of planets is not something we can watch unfold in real time. It takes millions of years for the ingredients of a solar system to come together. 

Still, astronomers can get snapshots of these processes by turning powerful telescopes toward stellar nurseries. This image from the James Webb Space Telescope offers an intimate look at one of the most striking planet-forming discs ever seen.

What Webb shows us is not only beautiful, but also a clue to how our own Solar System may have looked some 4.5 billion years ago.

A protostar wrapped in dust

At the heart of the IRAS 04302 system lies a protostar – a star still in the process of gathering mass. Around it is a giant protoplanetary disc that Webb has measured at about 65 billion miles across, several times wider than the Solar System we know. 

This is the environment where planets might be taking shape, as dust grains collide, stick together, and gradually grow into larger bodies.

From Webb’s vantage point, the disc is tilted edge-on. That angle creates a dark band across the image, blocking light from the star itself. 

The shadow is not empty space. It is packed with dust and gas, the very material that could eventually give rise to planets. Scientists can use this perspective to study the vertical structure of the disc, including how efficiently dust settles toward its midplane – a process essential for building worlds.

The Butterfly Star

The striking appearance of IRAS 04302 has earned it a nickname: the Butterfly Star. The dense streak of dust bisects the view, while two glowing wings stretch above and below. 

These wings are reflection nebulas, lit up by starlight bouncing off surrounding clouds. They provide a softer glow that contrasts with the sharp dark lane running through the middle.

Seen from a different angle, protoplanetary discs often reveal features such as rings, gaps, or spirals. These patterns may point to baby planets carving out paths, or to other processes like gravitational instabilities. 

The edge-on view here does not highlight those structures, but instead gives a rare look at the thickness of the disc itself.

Stellar system in transition 

To capture this image, astronomers combined data from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument with optical observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. Each tool adds its own piece of the puzzle. 

Webb is especially sensitive to the distribution of fine dust grains and the scattering of infrared light over great distances. Hubble, meanwhile, picks out sharp details in the dust lane and reveals clumps and streaks that hint at jets and outflows still erupting from the star.

Together, these telescopes show a stellar system in transition. The protostar is still feeding on its surroundings, but it is also shaping them with energy and motion. That push and pull is part of how young stars mature and carve out the conditions for planets to emerge.

The first steps of planet formation

IRAS 04302 is one of four discs studied as part of Webb’s General Observer program #2562. The program focuses on discs oriented edge-on, since those views allow scientists to measure how dust grains evolve over time. 

Dust growth is believed to be a crucial early step toward making planets. By watching how particles settle into dense midplanes, researchers can begin to reconstruct the timeline of planetary birth.

The Taurus region is a well-known nursery where dozens of young stars are found. Observing IRAS 04302 in such detail adds to our understanding of how stars and planets are connected. 

Every glimpse like this one helps astronomers piece together the story of how ordinary gas and dust can turn into complex systems of worlds.

Looking back to our own beginnings

Although IRAS 04302 is hundreds of light-years away, it offers a mirror to our past. The Sun once sat inside its own cloud of dust, pulling in material while planets assembled around it. 

Seeing another star at a similar stage helps remind us that solar systems are not accidents. They are natural outcomes of star formation, happening again and again across the galaxy.

The Butterfly Star is still in its infancy, and any planets taking shape there are far from complete. Yet in its shadowed disc and glowing wings, we catch a glimpse of the processes that once shaped Earth. 

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Villenave et al.

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