2025 Space Telescope Advent CalendarNEWS | 02 December 2025ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Villenave et al.
A Cosmic Butterfly. In August, the James Webb Space Telescope provided this new view of IRAS 04302+2247, a planet-forming disk about 525 light-years away. This protoplanetary disk, a structure that is several times the diameter of our solar system, can be seen at center, encircling a protostar—a young star that is still gathering mass from its environment, possibly forming new planets. The dense disk of dusty gas blocks much of the protostar’s bright light, allowing a better look at the two gauzy nebulae on either side of the disk. These reflection nebulae, illuminated by the central protostar, give the star its nickname, the “Butterfly Star.”Author: Alan Taylor. Source
