WEBVTT

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The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex,
a small star forming region,

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is located 390 light years away.

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The closest star
forming region to Earth.

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A chaotic scene
resembling explosions

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frozen in time, this new image
from NASA's James Webb Space

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Telescope displays a field
of about 50 young stars, many

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of them similar in
mass to our sun.

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A region that would look
black in visible light

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is revealed in the infrared
with Webb sensitive instruments.

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The detail in Webb's portrait
of starbirth is unprecedented.

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The scene is dominated by
a giant cavity that has

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been carved by a single star.

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That star, S1, is more
massive than our sun

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and emits ultraviolet photons
that have carved out a bubble.

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The yellow orange color
comes from tiny sooty grains

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that astronomers call polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons.

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Streamers of gas and dust
form structures and textures

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unlike anything we
have seen before.

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The striking large
red vertical band

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is a protostellar outflow,
twin powerful Jets of material

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that occurred during the early
stages of star formation.

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The projecting cone is the
result of material that's

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been ejected through the jet.

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The entire structure
glows red due

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to molecular hydrogen
being energized

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as material from the jets
collides with interstellar gas.

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Like most young stars
young solar systems

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also form in multiples.

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And we can see several brand new
solar systems making their way

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into the universe via the
very same processes that

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shaped our own cosmic home.

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Planet forming disks block
the star's light casting

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telltale shadows across space.

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