Star-Birth “Fireworks”

Noirlab_gemini1508a_1024

noirlab_gemini1508a September 25th, 2015

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Reipurth, C. Aspin & T. Rector

This Gemini North telescope image reveals no less than six gas jets emerging at supersonic speeds from the reddish Herbig-Haro 24 (HH 24) complex — a small cluster of young stars embedded in a molecular cloud some 1,300 light years distant in the constellation Orion. It is the most detailed image ever obtained from the ground of this remarkable region, which contains the highest concentration of jets known anywhere. One jet is highly disturbed, suggesting that the source may be a close binary whose orbit perturbs the jet body. This dynamic environment also may be responsible for expelling some of the lowest mass stars in the area. Most puzzling are the five very-low-mass protostars seen well outside the star-forming cloud core. As the gas is far too tenuous for the stars to have formed in their present locations, these orphaned protostars were most likely ejected shortly after birth from the core, which hosts a small multiple protostellar system known as SSV 63. Such ejections may occur when the crowded stars start moving around each other in a chaotic dance, ultimately leading to the ejection of the smallest ones. The bright nebulous star to the south is the visible T Tauri star SSV 59.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/gemini1508a/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
HH 24
Noirlab_gemini1508a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 46m 9.1s
DEC = 0° 10’ 17.1”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
4.2 x 5.1 arcminutes
Constellation
Orion

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Cyan Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (H-alpha) 656.0 nm
Orange Gemini-N (GMOS-N) Optical (SII) 672.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Cyan
Orange
Noirlab_gemini1508a_1280
×
ID
gemini1508a
Subject Category
Subject Name
HH 24
Credits
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Reipurth, C. Aspin & T. Rector
Release Date
2015-09-25T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/gemini1508a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Gemini North, Gemini North
Instrument
GMOS-N, GMOS-N
Color Assignment
Cyan, Orange
Band
Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, SII
Central Wavelength
656, 672
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
86.5378140534, -0.171403288591
Reference Dimension
1744.0, 2108.0
Reference Pixel
872.0, 1054.0
Scale
-4.05943795596e-05, 4.05943795596e-05
Rotation
-0
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
NSF's NOIRLab
URL
https://noirlab.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
950 North Cherry Ave.
City
Tucson
State/Province
AZ
Postal Code
85719
Country
USA
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
NSF's NOIRLab
Publisher ID
noirlab
Resource ID
gemini1508a
Metadata Date
2023-11-07T17:54:14.102785
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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