Washington, Dec 19: An adolescent star in the midst of a dramatic growth phase has been observed with the help of two NASA space telescopes.
The youngster belongs to a class of stars that gain mass when matter swirling around the star falls onto its surface, NASA said in an official statement on Wednesday.
The star belongs to a class of fitful stars known as FU Ori's, named after the original member of the group, FU Orionis (the capital letters represent a naming scheme for variable stars, and Orionis refers to its location in the Orion constellation).
The in-falling matter causes the star to appear about 100 times brighter.
Typically, these stars, which are less than a few million years old, are hidden behind thick clouds of dust and hard to observe.
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