(NASA)
NASA released images of a butterfly in space this week.
The images captured with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope don’t depict a monarch or a swallowtail, but they do show a protostar whose official name is “IRAS 04302+224.” That name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, unfortunately.
Because the young growing star and planet forming disc around it are surrounded by a pair of gauzy “reflection nebulae” on either side, the formation has been nicknamed the Butterfly Star.
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The Butterfly Star is 525 light years away and only visible to use through the use of multiple imaging systems. The James Webb Space Telescope, which happens to be the largest telescope in space, uses the infrared spectrum to capture photographs while the Hubble Space Telescope uses a more conventional visible spectrum.
Combining information from both telescopes allowed NASA to create the image you see above.