Hidden in the neck of this “hourglass” of light are the very beginnings of a new star — a protostar. The clouds of dust and gas within this region are only visible in infrared light, the wavelengths that Webb specializes in.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/52504158265/in/album-72177720301006030/
Events like this make me wonder if we’ll eventually witness the birth of a star that will one day support intelligent life, in a very real sense making us witness to the birth of new civilizations.
Perhaps one day we will be the aliens that some species writes conspiracy theories about.
That would be really interesting for sure. Hopefully one day we’ll be able to look at this as a fully fledged star with its own thriving solar system!
Someone needs to make this into a sci-if movie.