14 DAY TRIAL // This July 2, researchers with the European Southern Observatory released this image of a cosmic gas and dust cloud dubbed Gum 15 and announced that, all things considered, this structure wouldn't be around for much longer.
This is because, according to recent data, stars that are now forming inside Gum 15 are not only altering the gas and dust cloud's appearance, but stand to also destroy their stellar womb once they reach adulthood.
This is because, as they age, massive stars formed inside Gum 15 are expected to explode and disperse the ionized hydrogen gas (HII) that this cosmic cloud consists of. Once this happens, astronomers will have nothing but very young stars to stare at.
“Once the newly minted stars have passed through their infant stages, strong winds of particles will stream away from these large stars, sculpting and dispersing the gases around them, and when the most massive of these stars begin to die, Gum 15 will die with them.”
“Some stars are so large that they will go out with a bang, exploding as supernovae and dispersing the regions last traces of HII, leaving behind just a cluster of infant stars,” scientists with the European Southern Observatory explain in a statement.
According to Science Daily, Gum 15 sits at a distance of about 3,000-light years from our planet. When compared to other structures, it looks rather disheveled. As shown by previous studies, this is because the gas and the dust that comprise it are irregularly distributed.