Hubble Images Lupus 3: Ghostly Star-Forming Cloud Alive in Scorpius

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals Lupus 3, a nearby star-forming cloud about 500 light-years away in Scorpius. The image shows white wisps of gas, a dark dust cloud, and bright T Tauri stars, illustrating how young stars form from dense clouds. T Tauri stars are in a dynamic stage where surrounding gas and dust dissipate due to radiation and outflows, with brightness variability linked to the accretion process. This view helps astronomers understand the early steps of star formation and how stars settle onto the main sequence. Original publisher: NASA.

Overview

The Hubble Space Telescope provides a striking look at Lupus 3, a star-forming cloud located in the Scorpius region about 500 light-years from Earth. The image captures the interplay of gas and dust that heralds the birth of new stars, with bright T Tauri stars marking key sites of activity. T Tauri stars are young stellar objects in a transitional phase as they accumulate mass from their surroundings and begin hydrogen fusion in their cores. This panorama, shared by NASA, ESA, and processing specialist Gladys Kober, highlights the dynamic environment of a stellar nursery and the processes that sculpt nascent stars.

"While this eerie NASA Hubble Space Telescope image may look ghostly, it’s actually full of new life." - NASA

Lupus 3: Location, Composition, and Significance

Lupus 3 lies behind a serene expanse of gas and dust in the Lupus star-forming complex and sits roughly 500 light-years away in Scorpius. The lower-left dark dust cloud contrasts with bright gas wisps across the field, and multiple young stellar objects dot the image. The cloud’s star-forming activity is evidenced by T Tauri stars at several locations, including left, bottom-right, and near the center. These observations provide a laboratory for studying how protostellar envelopes dissipate via radiation, winds, and disk accretion while nascent stars contract toward the main sequence.

"Lupus 3 is a star-forming cloud about 500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius." - NASA

T Tauri Stars and Early Stellar Growth

The article outlines that T Tauri stars represent a specific stage in star formation where surrounding material is being cleared away. The variability in brightness arises from accretion dynamics, disk instabilities, and surface phenomena such as solar-like flares. As these stars evolve, they contract under gravity and begin hydrogen fusion in their cores, entering the main sequence. Studying these objects illuminates the broader process of how stars form, accrete material, and transition toward stable nuclear burning.

"T Tauri stars are actively forming stars in a specific stage of formation." - NASA

Context and Next Steps

NASA’s Hubble imagery, with processing credits to K. Stapelfeldt (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America), invites ongoing exploration of stellar nurseries. The article notes new images added daily between January 12–17, 2026, and directs readers to Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for additional examples of young stellar objects.