Celestial Beacon Sheds New Light on Stellar Nursery

shows the eruption at a later stage when the luminous inner disk and the blinding white hot spots produce more light than the star. Gemini spectroscopic observations reveal that gas escapes from the erupting star-disk system with velocities of more than 600 km/second. This is one of the fastest winds ever recorded around a young star. The outflow clears away some of the surrounding gas and dust that shrouds the embryonic star, allowing the visible light from the star to shine through.