An Amazing JWST Image of a Protostar

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been giving us a fabulous new view of the universe since its launch. This new image of the protostar HH30 is in amazing new detail thanks to the JWST. It was first discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope but this Herbig-Haro object, which is a dark molecular cloud, is a perfect object for the JWST. The image shows the protoplanetary disk seen edge-on with a conical outflow of gas and dust, with a narrow jet blasting out into space.

Overview of JWST

The JWST is arguably the most advanced space observatory ever built. It was launched on December 25, 2021 and orbits the Sun at the second Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It has a 6.5-meter gold-coated mirror and powerful infrared instruments which can peer through dust to study the formation of stars, galaxies, and even exoplanet atmospheres. It has already provided amazing images of deep space, revealing galaxies from the early universe.

Study of the Protostar HH30

Recently, the JWST has been used to study the protostar HH30, located about 450 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. It is embedded in the dark cloud LDN1551. At its center lies a newborn star embedded in a dense disk of gas and dust, which fuels its formation.

HH30 is a Herbig-Haro object, which is a small, bright nebulae found in star-forming regions. The nebula is created when high-speed jets of ionized gas from newborn stars collide with surrounding interstellar material. They are typically located near protostars and are often aligned along the axis of bipolar outflows. As the jets travel through space at hundreds of kilometers per second, they create shock waves that heat the surrounding gas, causing it to glow in visible and infrared wavelengths. Herbig-Haro objects tend to be transient, evolving over a few thousand years as the jets interact with changing environments.

Team of Astronomers

The team of astronomers combined images from JWST, HST, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Their collaboration is aimed at studying the appearance of the disk in multiple wavelengths. The observations have been wonderfully captured in this new image that has been released as Picture of the Month. HH30 is seen in unprecedented detail.

Dust Grains in HH30

JWST is known for its infrared capabilities and allowed the team to track the location of sub-millimeter-sized grains of dust. ALMA enabled the team to explore further. Using ALMA, millimeter-sized grains of dust were studied, which revealed that they, unlike the smaller dust grains, were found in a narrow region in the plane of the disk. The smaller grains were found to be much more widespread.

Formation Processes

The study concluded that larger grains of dust seem to migrate within the disk and settle into a thin layer. It’s thought this marks an essential part of the formation of planetary systems, with the grains clumping together to form smaller rocks and ultimately into planets.

Complex Structures

Not only did the study reveal the behavior of dust grains in HH30, but it also uncovered various structures embedded within one another. A narrow, high-velocity jet was seen emerging from the central disk, surrounded by a wider, rather cone-shaped outward flow of gas. This study helps us understand more about the origins of our Solar System and how exoplanetary systems form.

Data Analysis

Further Implications

“The combined data from multi-wavelength observations allows us to paint a clearer picture of how stars like our Sun form and evolve.” – Dr. Sarah Johnson, Astrophysicist

Conclusion

The imaging provided by JWST of the protostar HH30 gives scientists a clearer picture of the complex processes involved in star formation. The unprecedented detail allows us to explore the early universe and understand the pathways of creating planetary systems.

For More Information

For further details about the James Webb Space Telescope and its findings, you can refer to Universe Today.