Infant star’s first steps

The power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveals two immense, rippled jets of dense gas with near-perfect symmetry emanating from a single source at the centre of this image. At their origin lies an extremely young star — called a protostar — that is beginning the long journey to becoming a star much like the Sun.

The infant star, known as CARMA-7, and its jets are located approximately 1400 light-years from Earth within the Serpens South star cluster. This dense cluster, predictably found in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent), is home to at least 30 more protostars that are sparking into existence in close proximity, providing astronomers with a perfect laboratory in which to study the interactions between stars and their environment.

The first steps of a star’s life are still poorly understood, but astronomers concluded that these knotted, smoky jets are caused by periodic outbursts of gas, ejected at tremendous speeds from CARMA-7 into its surroundings. These outbursts are triggered by material infalling onto the protostar from an orbiting disc. As the jets speed away from their infant star, they collide with interstellar material causing them to slow and spread out. One day, that material may collapse and form yet another generation of stars.

Źródło:

ESO/A. Plunkett

O zdjęciu

Identyfikator:potw1545a
Typ:Obserwacje
Data publikacji:9 listopada 2015 10:00
Rozmiar:3536 x 1172 px

O obiekcie

Nazwa:Serpens Constellation
Typ:Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Protostar
Odległość:1400 lat świetlnych
Kategoria:Stars

Formaty zdjęć

Wielki JPEG
907,9 KB

Powiększenie


Tapety

1024x768
155,6 KB
1280x1024
287,5 KB
1600x1200
450,8 KB
1920x1200
531,0 KB
2048x1536
724,8 KB

Kolory i filtry

PasmoDługość faliTeleskop
Milimetrowy
Band 6
1.31 mmAtacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array