Trapezium: Teardrops in My Skies
			
		
		
		
			Sometimes the unexpected comes in a familiar
shape.  In this picture, the seemingly familiar 
teardrop-shaped object just right of center is actually 
an unusually situated disk of gas and dust.
 
In fact, the teardrop is about the size of 
our own Solar System
and is racing against time to condense and form planets. 
This disk, however, is unfortunate enough to lie in the 
Trapezium, which is also home to 
several immense, bright stars.
These bright stars emit light so powerful it boils away the 
gas and dust in 
planet-forming disks.
Large Jupiter-like planets 
will probably never form in this hostile environment, 
but it is currently unknown whether 
Earth-like 
planets could form and survive.