NASA's Hubble Reveals 'Glittering Cosmic Geode' in New Image
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spied three young stars shining through a nebula as they orbit each other
HP Tau, in particular, is incredibly young compared to our own sun, and hasn't even started nuclear fusion yet
which is the process by which stars fuse hydrogen into helium to power themselves.
HP Tau is a T Tauri star, which is a class of young, variable stars in the early stages of stellar evolution.
These stars are found in star-forming regions like nebulae, and are considered to be the precursors to main-sequence stars like our sun
Most of these stars are in binary systems, and about half have disks of debris surrounding them that could one day condense into planets in much the same manner as the formation of our own solar system.
HP Tau's brightness can be seen to fluctuate over time due to its status as a variable star, which is common for T Tauri stars.
This variability is caused by unstable and often vigorous stellar activity, which is the result of material falling into the star, stellar flares and giant sunspots.