Stunning, rainbow-colored object spotted by James Webb telescope could be an alien solar system in the making

By Ben Turner
published 16 hours ago

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a belching protostar in its infancy. By studying the dust grains whirling around it, astronomers hope to better understand how solar systems like our own take shape.



HH 30 as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope.
(Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, Tazaki et al.)


The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning image of a young star firing energy into space, illuminating a protoplanetary disk from which a new solar system may form.

The young star, called HH 30, is a Herbig-Haro object — a bright knot of gas formed when the gas streaming from young protostars collides with nearby matter, producing shockwaves.

HH 30 is located 450 light-years away in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Astronomers are studying the gassy knot to learn more about how dust grains combine with massive jets to form planets. The researchers published their findings Feb. 3 in The Astrophysical Journal.

"These grains are only one millionth of a metre across — about the size of a single bacterium," the researchers wrote in a blog post accompanying the image. "While the large dust grains are concentrated in the densest parts of the disc, the small grains are much more widespread."

Where star systems are born

Stars take tens of millions of years to form, growing from dense, billowing clouds of turbulent dust and gas to gently glowing protostars, before materializing into gigantic orbs of fusion-powered plasma like our sun.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/stunning-rainbow-colored-object-spotted-by-james-webb-telescope-could-be-an-alien-solar-system-in-the-making