A star is born — literally.
An incredible image from the James Webb Space Telescope is providing new clues about how stars come into existence.
The awe-inspiring snap shows protostar HH 212, located about 1,300 light-years from Earth.
HH 212 was first discovered back in 1993, near the Belt of Orion, and astronomers have spent the past three decades taking images in order to uncover how the budding star is slowly forming.
However, according to Mark McCaughrean, a senior advisor at the European Space Agency, this is the “first-time” scientists have seen a “good color image” of the protostar, which has not previously been possible with ground telescopes.
The new image reveals intricate details about star formation, with symmetrical pink plumes of gas emissions coming from either pole of the protostar.
McCaughrean claims these neon bursts — called jets or outflows — are a moral byproduct of star birth, and their vibrant hue indicates the presence of molecular hydrogen.
“As the blobby ball of gas at the center compacts down, it rotates,” he explained in an interview with BBC. “But if it rotates too fast, it will fly apart, so something has to get rid of the angular momentum… We think it’s jets and outflows.”
According to BBC, the scene captured by the telescope “would have looked much the same” as when our sun was in its development stage.
The James Webb Space Telescope, which launched on Christmas two years ago, is situated over one million miles away at what is called “Lagrange point 2,” and has the ability to capture images from deep space, providing clues to the formation of both stars and planets.
“Webb has given us a more intricate understanding of galaxies, stars and the atmospheres of planets outside of our solar system than ever before, laying the groundwork for NASA to lead the world in a new era of scientific discovery and the search for habitable worlds,” Nicola Fox, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, previously said.
She touted the telescope’s abilities to reshape the understanding of the cosmos with the ability to see “light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time.”
She touted the telescope’s abilities to reshape the understanding of the cosmos with the ability to see “light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time.”
“Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of.”