MUSE’s adaptive optics and receiver on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) allowed astronomers to get a magnificent image of the area with newborn stars in a nearby galaxy, and also to identify an unusual feature in one of them.

The LHA 120-N 180B area in the Large Magellanic Cloud, visible on a color image, belongs to the type of nebulae H II – real nurseries of newborn stars.

The H II regions are interstellar clouds of ionized hydrogen and are star-nurseries”in which the young massive luminaries responsible for the ionization of the surrounding gas create very picturesque pictures. A feature of the LHA 120-N 180B form is that the nebula forms a cyclopean hydrogen bubble surrounded by four smaller bubbles.

Deep within the glowing cloud of the HII region LHA 120-N 180B, MUSE has spotted a jet emitted by a fledgling star — a massive young stellar object . This is the first time such a jet has been observed in visible light outside the Milky Way. Usually, such jets are obscured by their dusty surroundings, meaning they can only be detected at infrared or radio wavelengths by telescopes such as ALMA. However, the relatively dust-free environment of the LMC allowed this jet — named Herbig–Haro 1177, or HH 1177 for short — to be observed at visible wavelengths. At nearly 33 light-years in length, it is one of the longest such jets ever observed. The blue and red regions in this image show the jet, which was detected as blue- and red-shifted emission peaks of the Hα line.

Deep in the depths of this luminous cloud, MUSE discovered a jet, designated HH 1177. It was ejected by a newly formed star, which is 12 times more massive than the Sun. Such a structure is first observed outside the Milky Way in visible light, since jets are usually screened by their dusty environment. However, the relatively dust-poor interstellar medium in the Large Magellanic Cloud allows observing it at optical wavelengths. In addition, HH 1177 is one of the longest jets among all known: its length is almost 33 light years.

HH 1177 tells us a lot about the early history of stars. The beam of particles is highly collimated: almost does not diverge over its entire length. Such jets are associated with accretion disks around their stars, and can shed light on the process of concentration of matter around them.

We found that both massive and low-mass luminaries emit collimated jets, like HH 1177, as a result of the action of identical mechanisms. This hints at a similar process of forming stars of various masses.

A star with a length of 33 light years jet
Click To Tweet

The post A star with a length of 33 light years jet appeared first on Upcosmos.com.