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NASA's Webb Telescope Will Investigate Cosmic Jets from Young Stars

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November 14, 2018 10:00AM (EST)Release ID: 2018-53
The frame is filled by a pair of thin horizontal orange-gold jets, known as Herbig-Haro 212, that start at bottom left and end at top right. Just off center within this cloud are two bright areas, with a dark gap in between. Matter appears to be streaming away at both points, toward the bottom left and toward the upper right. The orange-gold jets are wider toward the outer edges on either side. The jet at the top right forms a rough arrow shape where it ends. The background is black and has gold dots of various sizes, which may be stars and galaxies, scattered across the view.

Summary

Infrared Light Penetrates Dusty Cocoons to Reveal Secrets of Star Birth

Young stars, like young children, are messy eaters, swallowing most of the material falling onto them but spitting the rest out. The gas a newborn star fails to eat gets ejected outward at supersonic speeds, creating shock waves that heat the interstellar medium and cause it to glow in infrared light. NASA’s Webb telescope will examine stellar outflows and shocks to learn more about how stars like our sun form.

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