Science Break:
Glowing like a blue light bulb this young star, known as HD 97300, lights up a nearby cloud of dust and gas particles, creating a "reflection nebula." The reflection nebula featured in the image is called IC 2631. IC 2631 is the brightest nebula in the Chamaeleon Complex, a large region of gas and dust clouds that harbors numerous newborn and still-forming stars. This complex lies about 500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Chamaeleon.
This region is abundant in star-forming material. Some of this material is apparent in dark nebulae, which are gas and dust clouds that are so dense that starlight can't pass through them. In the image, dark nebulae are visible above and below IC 2631.
HD 97300 looks impressively bright now, but its glory days won't last forever. HD 97300 is in the "T Tauri" phase — the youngest stage for small stars. T Tauri stars have not yet begun to fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores, as main sequence stars such as the sun do; rather, they generate heat from contraction. HD 97300 will be significantly smaller and dimmer when it reaches stellar adulthood and joins the main sequence group.