Orion’s newborn nursery
When we look up into the night sky each star has its own story, each is at a different stage in its life. If we are very fortunate, as with Supernova 1987A, we may find ourselves in the right time and place to witness a massive star announce the end of its life with great fanfare. The last supernova visible to the unaided eye in our own galaxy was in AD 1604. These events, albeit rare, require little effort on the part of the observer. Indeed, some are hard to miss, such as the AD 1054 supernova that resulted in the Crab Nebula — that stellar explosion was visible in daylight for weeks after the event. Conversely, observing stars at the beginning of their lives takes great effort, as they’re born shrouded by gas and dust that obscure our view. Powerful winds from massive nearby (from ionised “protoplanetary disks”). At a distance of around 1,300 light-years, the Orion Nebula is the closest large stellar birthplace in the night sky. And some of these proplyds are within the reach of amateur telescopes.
