In a groundbreaking image from June 20, 2024, the James Webb Space Telescope captured aligned gas jets from newborn stars, proving that such stars share a common spin direction.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a phenomenon for the very first time.
The bright red streaks at top left of this June 20, 2024, image are aligned protostar outflows – jets of gas from newborn stars that all slant in the same direction.
This image supports astronomers’ assumption that as clouds collapse to form stars, the stars will tend to spin in the same direction.
Webb’s sensitive infrared vision was able to pierce through the thick dust, resolving the stars and their outflows.
The James Webb Space Telescope is a cornerstone of modern astronomical research, designed to expand our understanding of the cosmos.
Each observation by Webb adds a layer of knowledge, helping scientists piece together the history and scale of the cosmos.
With its advanced capabilities, Webb not only serves as a window back in time but also as a beacon guiding future explorations and discoveries.
Newborn stars’ aligned gas jets were photographed by the James Webb Space Telescope on June 20, 2024, demonstrating that the stars have the same spin direction. This image is quite remarkable.
For the first time ever, a phenomenon has been observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The image from June 20, 2024 shows bright red streaks at the top left. These are protostar outflows, which are jets of gas from young stars that are aligned and slant in the same direction.
The assumption made by astronomers that stars will rotate in the same direction as clouds collapse to form them is supported by this image. In the past, the objects were invisible at optical wavelengths or appeared as blobs. Through the dense dust, Webb’s keen infrared vision was able to distinguish between the stars and their outflows.
One of the mainstays of contemporary astronomical research, the James Webb Space Telescope was created to increase our comprehension of the universe. With a primary mirror measuring six points five meters and state-of-the-art technology that primarily uses infrared light, Webb, which is positioned almost a million miles from Earth, provides an unparalleled view of the cosmos. By virtue of its location and technological capabilities, it is able to gather light from the first stars and galaxies, offering insights into the early stages of the universe, which occurred more than 13.5 billion years ago.
A wide range of scientific goals are included in Webb’s mission. It seeks to address basic inquiries concerning the composition and origin of the universe, as well as the formation of stars and planetary systems and the atmospheres of potentially habitable exoplanets. With every discovery made by Webb, scientists are able to piece together the cosmos’ size and history. Webb’s sophisticated capabilities allow it to function as a guide for upcoming explorations and discoveries as well as a window into the past.
