The image below, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a caterpillar-shaped protostar in its early stages of star formation. The blue cloud (with a length of approximately one light-year) represents a collection of gas from which the star builds itself. For this particular protostar (IRAS 20324), however, the cloud of gas is being eroded by radiation from nearby Cygnus OB2 association, a collection of the hottest, brightest known stars, and energentic winds composed of a fast moving flow of protons, electrons, and atoms of heavier metals. The future of this star is unknown to astronomers at the moment as its formation to a star my be cut short by the erosion. If it collects enough mass, this protostar has the potential of becoming a massive star (one to ten times larger than the sun) and turning into a planetary nebula.
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