Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2025

16 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 ASTRO PUBLISHING ly twice the distance between our Sun and the next nearest stars, the Alpha Centauri system. The size and strength of this particular stellar jet, located in a nebula known as Sharp- less 2-284 (Sh2-284 for short), qual- ifies it as rare, say researchers. Streaking across space at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, the outflow resembles a double-bladed dueling lightsaber from the Star Wars films. The central protostar, weighing as much as ten of our Suns, is located 15,000 light-years A blowtorch of seething gas- ses erupting from a volcani- cally growing monster star has been captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Stretching across 8 light-years, the length of the stellar eruption is approximate- Webb observes immense stellar jet on outskirts of our galaxy by NASA/ESA/CSA Ray Villard & Christine Pulliam