NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captures new image of HH212 star formation, 1,300 light-years away from Earth. See pic
BBC. The image released shows the HH212 star coming into existence which is around 50,000 years old. It shows pink-red colours coming out from the centre and going in polar opposite directions while the glow from the protostar is not visible due to a dense, spinning disc of gas and dust.
Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here! HH212 was found in the constellation Orion which is close to the three stars that make the "belt" of the mythical hunter. The distance of this star from Earth is about 1,300 light-years.
Prof Mark McCaughrean said, "As the blobby ball of gas at the centre compacts down, it rotates. But if it rotates too fast, it will fly apart, so something has to get rid of the angular momentum." European Space Agency senior scientific advisor said, "We think it's jets and outflows. We think that as all the material shrinks down, magnetic fields are pulled together and then some of the material coming in through the disc gets captured on magnetic fields and is thrown out through the poles.
That's why we call these structures bi-polar," reported BBC News. According to a study, this outflow of gas occurs when star formation takes place. The pink-red colour indicates the presence of molecular hydrogen which refers to two hydrogen atoms bonded together.
The density of gas and dust in space is thinner and hence the shock structure appears to be more diffused. NASA's image unveiled the shockwaves moving through the outflows that make them glow brightly. The picture was taken at 2.12 microns infrared wavelength.
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