Located in the constellation Aquila, about 7,200 light-years from Earth, you will find this massive star formation with a protostellar jet streaming towards us.

This light show was captured by the NASA Hubble space telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 to study the degree of ionisation in the jets erupting from the protostar. When ionisation occurs, it means that atoms and molecules lose some of their electrons as they are charged by the high-energy environment in which they are located. Protostellar jets collimate bundles of matter ejected from young stars called protostars. Collimation means that matter is ejected in a parallel direction, resembling a column-like shape.

Image description: A nebula filled with stars. Dense clouds of dust and gas cover the left side and a filament crosses the centre horizontally. Streams of gas and dust of various colours radiate from around the centre. Glowing orange regions permeate the very centre of the image. In the foreground are many blue stars with cross-shaped spikes, and beyond the clouds are small point-like stars.