NASA managed to capture the exact moment a star is born
- NASA represents the pinnacle of pushing humanity’s boundaries
- America’s Space agency is known for some of mankind’s best accomplishments
- Now, they’ve achieved another one – capturing the birth of a star
Published on Mar 03, 2025 at 3:37 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Mar 03, 2025 at 4:13 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
NASA is known for capturing some pretty cool things in its line of work.
In fact, America’s space organization is responsible for some of mankind’s greatest accomplishments.
We all know that the agency’s knowledge and experience got us to the Moon in 1969.
And it’s now captured the moment that a star was born.
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NASA: Space race origins
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was founded on July 29th, 1958.
It came into being because, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union won the race to put the first artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth.
In fact, the USSR’s Sputnik 1 entered orbit on October 4th, 1957, and prompted the United States to massively prioritize space travel, particularly putting a man on the moon.
So, on May 5th, 1961, Alan Shepard made history by becoming the first American to enter space.
The Freedom 7 Space Capsule carried Shepard into a suborbital flight, laying the groundwork for the historic adventures that were to come.
One small step for man: NASA put a man on the Moon
By now, you’ve heard of the Apollo 11 space mission – the first maned mission to the Moon.
In May 1961, President John F Kennedy gave one of the most important addresses to the United States Congress.
During his speech, Kennedy openly outlined the need for the United States to put a man on the moon.
Sadly, the President wouldn’t live to see his vision realised.
To honor his memory, on July 16th, 1969, NASA made history with the launch of Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
And on July 20th, NASA made the history President Kennedy had been seeking.
“That’s one small step for man… One giant leap for mankind,” astronaut Neil Armstrong famously said as he took humanity’s first-ever steps on another planet
The Stars and Stripes was planted – and remains – on the Moon, and the all men made it home safely.
NASA had achieved the impossible, and they did it in under a decade.
A star is born…literally
Adding to its incredible achievements, NASA has now managed to capture the moment that an actual star was born.
The James Webb Space Telescope managed to capture the phenomenon.
The giant telescope is focused on an area known as the Taurus Molecular Cloud, which is home to a star nursery.
And Webb has captured the moment that HH 30, a star in its early stages inside the Cloud, first began to form and develop.
The new-born star is surrounded by energetic jets and a disk of spinning gas and dust.
The reason the birth of a star is so fascinating is simple – we’ve previously never had access to anything like this.
The Hubble Telescope, which was launched in 1990, just isn’t able to offer the in-depth imagery that the James Webb Space Telescope is.
That’s one of the reasons that Webb exists – to give us an even deeper look into the universe and maybe help us understand how we got here.
Thanks to NASA and incredible images like these, how can you not be romantic about astrology?
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
