The potential planet-forming disk (or "protoplanetary disk") of a sun-like star is being violently ripped away by the powerful winds of a nearby hot O-type star in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. At up to 100 times the mass of sun-like stars, O stars are the most massive and energetic stars in the universe.

The O star can be seen to the right of the image, as the large orange spot with the white center. To the left, the comet like structure is actually a neighboring solar system that is being destroyed by the O star's powerful winds and intense ultraviolet light.

In a process called "photoevaporation," immense output from the O star heats up the nearby protoplanetary disk so much that gas and dust boil off, and the disk can no longer hold together. Photon (or light) blasts from the O star then strip the potential planet forming disk off its neighbor star by blowing away evaporated material. This effect is illustrated in the smaller system's comet like structure.

The system is located about 2,450 light-years away in the star-forming cloud IC 1396.

The image was taken with Spitzer's Multiband Imaging Photometer instrument at 24 microns. The picture is a pseudo-color stretch representing intensity. Yellow and white represent hot areas, whereas purple and blue represent relatively cooler, fainter regions.

see http://gallery.spitzer.caltech.edu/Imagegallery/image.php?image_name=sig06-023 High quality tif files also avaliable.

	本文件完全由NASA创作，在美国属于公有领域。根据NASA的版权方针，NASA的材料除非另有声明否则不受版权保护。（参见Template:PD-USGov/zh、NASA版权方针页面或JPL图片使用方针。）
	警告: 使用NASA的标志、徽章、徽标等受到美国法律14 CFR 1221的限制。 NASA网站大量存储来自苏联或俄罗斯航天机构的图片，以及其他非美国的航天机构图片。这些文件不一定属于公有领域。 根据哈勃空间望远镜的数据制作的材料，如果不是明确声明由STScI提供，则可能受到版权保护。[1]参见((PD-Hubble))和((Cc-Hubble))。 SOHO（ESA和NASA）联合项目表示，由旗下的探测器创作的材料受版权保护，且对于商业性非教育目使用材料需要授权。[2] 每日一天文图（APOD）网站上展示的图片可能受到版权保护。[3] 国家太空科学数据中心（NSSDC）网站据信存储了受版权保护内容。其图库常见问答表明除非另有声明，图库的所有图片都属于公有领域。