Photo Journal

A young binary star system is wreathed in clouds of gas in this rarephoto of the SR 24 system, taken by researchers from KanagawaPrefecture's Graduate University for Advanced Studies using the JapaneseSubaru Telescope in Hawaii.

SR 24 is located in the Ophiuchus constellation, 520 lightyears away from Earth. The stars themselves are blacked out to allow thegas clouds, or protoplanetary disks, to be seen. This is the world'sfirst image of the early evolution of a binary star, according to theresearchers. (Photo courtesy of the Graduate University for AdvancedStudies and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)