Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . Gas jets from young star group extend 12 light-years. Solo star is on left edge of white blob.
Binary stars appear as red point of light below.
Between them lies a dark horizontal bar, the torus. Three young stars have been kicked out of their cosmic nursery, perhaps for engaging in a gravitational brawl, according to Hubble Space Telescope scientists, who released images of the trio on Wednesday. Two of the newborns remain in a tightly knit binary star system orbit, but the third left their company altogether, said Hubble researchers. Observations of the three could shed light on what determines the masses of stars. Newborn stars generally linger in the middle of such stellar birthing grounds, using stores of proto-stellar material for fuel.