Herbig-Haro 46/47: The Webb Space Telescope Captures a Stunning Infrared Image of Actively Forming Stars

 

These celebrities have a lot of excess energy to release! A tightly connected pair of dynamically developing stars known as Herbig-Haro 46/47 has been photographed by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in high-resolution near-infrared light. They can be found in the middle of the red diffraction spikes. Deeply buried, the stars are visible as an orange-white blotch. A disk of gas and dust that surrounds them keeps increasing their mass. Credit goes to NASA, ESA, CSA, Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), and Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

For a pair of stars actively accreting mass, there is a 100% probability of recurrent two-sided jets.

Actively forming stars are balls of energy, like kittens. However, stars radiate energy in the form of jets, which instead of being engulfed by the zoomies produce amazing, textured vistas. That is the situation with the Herbig-Haro 46/47 pair of closely circling stars.

The most comprehensive image of these stars to date was acquired by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. For thousands of years, the pair of actively forming stars has been emitting jets in opposite directions. Herbig-Haro 46/47 have been observed since the 1950s by a large number of telescopes, both on the ground and in space, but Webb is the first to record them in highly-resolved near-infrared light. With Webb, we can now see through the dusty blue nebula that surrounds the stars and gives them a dark appearance in visible light photographs to learn more about their past and present activities. Over time, scientists will be able to learn more specifics about how stars are created.

This composite of Herbig-Haro 46/47 was created using six near-infrared pictures taken by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on board the James Webb Space Telescope.

The orientation of the image on the sky is indicated by the north and east compass arrows. When compared to direction arrows on a map of the ground, the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is reversed.

This image demonstrates invisible near-infrared light wavelengths that have been converted into hues of visible light. Which NIRCam filters were used to capture the light is indicated by the color key. Each filter's name is colored to correspond to the color of the infrared light that travels through it in visible light.

The scale bar has arcminutes as its unit of measurement.

Highly detailed infrared images of actively forming stars are captured by the Webb Space Telescope.

High-resolution near-infrared images taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope show the "antics" of a pair of newborn stars known as Herbig-Haro 46/47 that are rapidly developing. Follow the vivid pink and red diffraction spikes (infographic below) until you reach the center to locate them: The orange-white blotch contains the stars. They are firmly embedded in a disk of gas and dust, which nourishes their growth as they continue to swell in size. The two dark, conical zones encircling the center stars can be seen, but the disk itself is not visible.

Information and Dynamics

The two-sided lobes that stretch out from the central actively developing stars, depicted in flaming orange, are among the most recognizable features. A large portion of this material was ejected from those stars over the course of thousands of years as they continuously ingested and ejected the gas and dust surrounding them.

(To view the complete infographic, click the image.) This picture explains the science underlying Webb's diffraction spike patterns by outlining the causes of diffraction spikes, the effects of the primary mirror and struts, and the relative contributions of each. Leah Hustak (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), NASA, ESA, CSA

These lobes alter in shape as material from more recent ejections collides with older material. Similar to a giant fountain turning on and off quickly yet randomly, this activity causes billowing patterns in the pool below. Some aircraft spew out more material while others take off more quickly. Why? It most likely has something to do with how much matter was deposited on the stars at a specific moment.

Recent ejections from the stars appear as blue threads. At two o'clock, they run immediately below the horizontal red diffraction spike. These ejections create wavy patterns with more clarity along the right side. They are sometimes broken up and come to an amazing irregular light purple circle in the largest orange region. On the left, close to the central stars, lighter blue, curved lines also appear but are occasionally obscured by the intense red diffraction spike.

Ejections' and the nebula's importance

These jets are all essential to the process of star formation. The amount of mass that stars finally accumulate is controlled by ejections. (The star-feeding disk of gas and dust is not very large. (Consider a band that is firmly knotted around the stars.)

Now look at the effervescent blue cloud, which is the second most noticeable aspect. This area of dense gas and dust is referred to as a nebula and, more precisely, as a Bok globule. It appears almost entirely black when viewed primarily in visible light (see image below), with only a few background stars poking through. We can see into and beyond the hazy layers of this cloud in Webb's clear near-infrared image, which sharpens Herbig-Haro 46/47 and reveals a wide variety of stars and galaxies that lie well beyond it. Along the right and bottom, a faint orange outline that resembles a reversible L marks the edges of the nebula.

This nebula is interesting because the core stars' jets have different shapes as a result of its presence. There is a greater chance that ejected material may collide with the nebula on the lower left, interacting with its molecules and igniting both of them.

Perspective and Asymetry Analysis

To evaluate the asymmetry of the two lobes, there are two more areas to consider. Pick out a blobby, almost sponge-like ejecta that seems isolated from the broader lobe by looking to the upper right. The larger lobe is only indicated by a few threads of semi-transparent wisps of material. It also seems to be followed by forms that resemble tentacles but are almost translucent, moving like cosmic wind streamers. In contrast, identify an arc at lower left by looking past the large lobe. Both are composed of the stuff that was expended to the greatest extent and perhaps by earlier ejections. The arcs might have come from many outflows because they appear to be pointing in various directions.

Examine this image in detail once more. Herbig-Haro 46/47 looks to have been snapped by Webb edge-on, but one side is tilted somewhat more toward Earth than the other. Contrary to popular belief, it is the smaller right half. Despite being bigger and brighter, the left side is pointing away from us.

Herbig-Haro 46/47's stars will fully form over the course of millions of years, eradicating these beautiful, multicolored ejections from the scene and allowing the binary stars to take center stage against a galaxy-filled backdrop.

Location and capabilities of the telescope

For two reasons, Webb can elucidate so much information in Herbig-Haro 46/47. Webb's image has more depth because it was created over numerous exposures and is relatively near to Earth.

Only 1,470 light-years separate us from Herbig-Haro 46/47 in the Vela Constellation.

The apex of space scientific observatories is the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb explores the mysteries of our solar system, distant celestial planets, and the intricate structures of our cosmos. It is led by NASA and is a collaboration between ESA, the Canadian Space Agency, and NASA.