Astronomers reveal birthplace of Protostellar jets in HH 211

The young protostar system- HH 211 (Image: Lee et al)

Astronomers figured out where powerful jets come from on a baby star called HH 211. This is about 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus constellation. The discovery sheds light on the early stages of star formation.

ALMA and JWST Team Up

The breakthrough combined ALMA and JWST’s powerful observational capabilities. ALMA revealed detailed views of the protostar’s accretion disc. JWST captured infrared images showing the wider energetic jet structures.

How the Jets Work

Observations from ALMA showed a thin disc feeding material onto the young star. Plus, images from JWST showed jets of high-energy particles shooting out. This action helps control growth by removing material, which lets the young star grow at a steady pace.

This study provides a close look at how jets from young stars grow and work as the star gets bigger. With both telescopes, scientists can now study how early star growth occurs with more detail.

Why This Matters?

The results not only improve what we know about HH 211 but also act as a way to look at other baby stars. This teamwork shows how valuable using multiple telescopes can be when observing the universe's hardest-to-see actions.

The scientists are eyeing on HH 211 and similar baby stars. Their goal is to improve star formation models and learn more about how cosmic jets work.