It is fascinating to observe a star in the very early stage of its life in our own galaxy; it is absolutely remarkable to see one in another galaxy

A young stellar object (YSO) is a star in the first phase of its life, having evolved past the protostar stage (i.e. is shining by way of internal nuclear reactions) but has yet to enter the main sequence of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Stars smaller than 2 solar masses are classified as T Tauri stars, after their prototype, while the heavier ones are called Herbig Ae/Be stars (e stands for emission lines). YSOs are almost always found within or near interstellar gas and dust, most often embedded or partially embedded in molecular clouds.

Two YSOs were within the reach of my telescope; the most stunning of which lies in the superbubble N57A – in the large slider image (above on this web page) it is the small bright object floating just above the “e” in “objects”.