CX330 was first noticed in 2009. NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory first took note of it while surveying the central region of the Milky Way. CX330 is a young star that is growing by leaps and bounds. Sitting by itself, CX330 is nowhere near any other celestial object. After observing the young star, scientists took note of other photographs of that particular area and realized that during the last three years, the star’s brightness had increased as much as a few hundred times. Before their collected data, scientists were unclear on what the light source was in the beginning.
The star has similarities to that of FU Orionis. CX330, however, is hotter, much more massive, and yet more compact than FU Orionis. Astronomers are puzzled by the formation of this young star because usually when a star forms, it feeds off the nearby dust and gas-rich clouds that surround it. The region around CX330 doesn’t have these clouds. Oddly, the closest star formation to CX330 is well over one thousand light years away. The intensity of this newly forming star, in spite of its isolation, now has scientists wondering if these stars may be forming elsewhere in isolation as well. There are theories, of course. One of those theories being that the star could have been born in a star-forming area and ejected to its current location. Other scientists believe that because of its youth, the star was born around its present location. As of a few days ago, CX330 was still continuing to outburst.
Fun fact – Stars like this could possibly form other planets!
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Base Article: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6578
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