McNeil's Nebula Protostar Flaunts its X-ray Spots

During outbursts, the infant star in McNeil's Nebula may brighten by 100 times at X-ray energies. In this animation, based on findings by NASA's Chandra Observatory, the Japan/U.S. Suzaku spacecraft, and Europe's XMM-Newton satellite, magnetic fields drive powerful flows onto the star, creating two hot spots that produce the high-energy emission.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center