Cosmic caterpillar

Cosmic caterpillar (IRAS 20324+4057) is a mixture of interstellar gas and dust that extends a light year in length in the Cygnus constellation, 4500 light years away. It has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope and resembles a crawling caterpillar. The head of the object is a protostar, but the presence of 65 O-type stars, which tend to scatter the matter accumulated by the Cosmic caterpillar, leaves doubt whether the caterpillar will survive and mature into a star.