James Webb photographed the star birth

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has received a very spectacular image of object L1527, which is formed by a newborn star. The image may shed light on how the Sun and the Solar System looked immediately after its formation.

The nebula around the protostar L1527. Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale, A. Pagan, and A. Koekemoer (STScI)

L1527 is an hourglass shaped gas-dust cloud that surrounds the protostar. The age of the luminary is only 100 thousand years. The protostar is hidden from us by dust clouds, but we can see a dark line in the middle of the “neck” of the hourglass. It corresponds to a protoplanetary disk.

The protostar is actively fueled by the surrounding matter. In addition, it periodically produces emissions that create cavities in the nebula. They are indicated in orange and blue.

JWST also discovered filaments consisting of molecular hydrogen, which are also the product of collisions of protostar emissions with the surrounding matter. This process leads to the formation of shock waves and disturbances that prevent the formation of other luminaries in the neighborhood. Thus, the protostar completely dominates this region, receiving all available matter.

According to astronomers, the newborn luminary has a long way to go before it becomes a full-fledged star. At the moment, L1527 is a hot, plump cluster of gas, which mass is from 20% to 40% solar. Thermonuclear reactions have not yet started in its bowels, it generates energy due to gravitational compression.

Recall that JWST recently took a “creepy” snapshot of the Pillars of Creation.

According to https://www.nasa.gov

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