Cosmic Alignment: Webb Telescope Captures Stunning Image of Newborn Star Outflow and Distant Galaxy
An extraordinary cosmic alignment has yielded one of the most breathtaking images ever obtained by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The spectacular discharge from a nascent star, identified as Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50), fortuitously lined up with a remote spiral galaxy, resulting in this captivating celestial vista.
Understanding Herbig-Haro Objects
Herbig-Haro objects are luminous clouds of gas and dust sculpted by infant stars or protostars. They originate when streams of charged particles, expelled from young stars at tremendous velocities, collide with surrounding matter, producing radiant, ever-changing configurations in space.
HH 49/50: A Window into Star Formation
Situated within the Chamaeleon I Cloud complex — one of the nearest stellar nurseries to Earth — Herbig-Haro 49/50 provides insights into the turbulent beauty of stellar genesis. This expansive cloud of gas and dust is abundant with fledgling, sun-like stars, potentially mirroring the environment that birthed our own solar system.
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Initially observed in 2006 by NASA’s now-decommissioned Spitzer Space Telescope, previous observations indicated that the HH 49/50 outflow is moving away from Earth at remarkable speeds of 100 to 300 kilometers per second (60 to 190 miles per second).
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Scientists have long hypothesized that the source of the Herbig-Haro 49/50 outflow is a protostar designated Cederblad 110 IRS4 (CED 110 IRS4), located approximately 1.5 light-years from the object.
By cosmic measures, CED 110 IRS4 is exceptionally young — a mere tens of thousands to a million years old — and is still developing, accumulating material from its surrounding disk. During this accretion phase, some gas is channeled along the protostar’s magnetic field lines and expelled as high-velocity jets. These jets strike surrounding clouds of gas and dust, creating Herbig-Haro objects, which are radiant shockwaves marking the zones where the outflow clashes with its surroundings.
HH 49/50 represents one of these collision sites. It earned the moniker “Cosmic Tornado” due to its striking, swirling form. Spitzer’s images lacked the clarity to distinguish the indistinct object at its apex — a feat achieved by JWST.
Webb Reveals Intricate Details of Star Outflow
Utilizing Webb’s NIRCam and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), astronomers have captured luminous hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules (depicted in orange and red), which are heated and energized by the intense jets emanating from the nearby nascent star. These molecules, along with energized dust particles, illuminate the complex and dynamic processes shaping the star’s vicinity.
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Unraveling the Mysteries of HH 49/50
Webb’s detailed images of HH 49/50 expose arcs of glowing gas that aided astronomers in tracing the jet’s trajectory back to its origin — CED 110IRS4. However, not all arcs align precisely with the same direction.
One particularly peculiar feature — an extension near the main outflow’s apex — appears incongruous. Scientists suggest it might be a separate, unrelated outflow coincidentally overlapping in the image. Another hypothesis is that the primary outflow is fragmenting, giving rise to this unusual shape. The erratic patterns might also stem from the gradual, oscillating motion of the protostar’s jet over time, a phenomenon termed precession.
“Webb has imaged these two unconnected objects in a fortunate alignment,” the Webb team stated in an announcement today (March 24), coinciding with the imagery release. “Over millennia, the edge of HH 49/50 will expand outwards and eventually obscure the distant galaxy.”