Orion nebula: new solar systems
Four recently formed stars in the Orion nebula show what the solar system might have looked like at its birth some 4.6 billion years ago. Gravity collapsed dense globules of dust and gas into each of the four stars. The outer material formed into the surrounding protoplanetary disks, which are believed to be the precursors of planets. The bright glow in each image is the star, and the dark oval is the protoplanetary disk seen at an angle.
© Mark McCaughrean, Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy; C. Robert O'Dell, Rice University; NASA