This picture, posted on apod.nasa.gov on September 4, 2013, shows the "evaporating" protostar IRAS 20324+4057. The protostar, which is 4500 light years away, is contracting to form a new star out of gas and dust. Energetic winds and energetic light are eroding away much of this gas and dust. This picture was taken with the Hubble Telescope in 2006. It's possible that this new star might one day expand into a planetary nebula, but it's also possible that one day this star could explode in a supernova. I was fascinated by this post because I had never heard of a protostar before, and the one in this image has a really cool caterpillar shape that intrigued me. It was great to learn about them from the links on the APOD website, and this picture has inspired me to look more into protostars, nebula, and supernova.
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