Stunning Photo by NASA’s James Webb Reveals ‘Lightsaber’ Rainbow Emanating from Young, Sun-Like Star

It may seem like something from a galaxy far, far away.

But this stunning image of a newborn star, showing what looks like a Star Wars-style ‘lightsaber’ sticking out of it, actually has much closer ties.

This is because it offers a glimpse of what our sun was like when it was very young.

Herbig-Haro 211 (HH 211), which is located about 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, is not actually visible in the image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

However, astronomers know that it is there because of the huge flows of gas and dust coming out on both sides, which shows that the star is growing.

It is currently about eight percent the mass of the Sun, but is expected to eventually reach the same size in the next few million years.

So-called bipolar jets pouring out of the baby star, or protostar, have been captured in unprecedented detail by Webb’s near-infrared camera, enabling exhaustive analysis that suggests HH 211 is only a few thousand years old. .

The images also helped reveal exactly what the gas jets are made of.

The researchers were surprised to discover that they were mostly molecules (two or more atoms connected by a chemical bond) and included carbon monoxide, silicon monoxide and molecular hydrogen.

They expected them to be composed of individual atoms or ions, as is the case with similar bipolar jets, but they believe they have an explanation for why this discrepancy occurred.

Astronomers discovered that the flow of gas and dust from HH 211 is much slower than that observed in other more evolved protostars.

This led them to conclude that there is not enough energy in the jets of HH 211 to split the molecules into simpler atoms and ions.

Despite this, experts said it is “currently a mystery” why the jets are slower than other bipolar jets.

“A very interesting discovery from this new image is that when a star is born it emits highly supersonic rays of matter that can extend for several light years,” said lead author of the research, Professor Tom Ray, from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin. . Studies.

“These beams look like lightsabers from Star Wars and shine with light from many different atoms and molecules.”

Professor Ray explained that because new stars are often “shrouded in gas and dust”, they are difficult to detect from Earth.

But with Webb’s help, he added, astronomers can use infrared light to penetrate through this and reveal star births, or stars like HH 211.

“Stars are not constant: they have a beginning and an end, like the rest of us, but the process takes billions of years,” Professor Ray said.

‘By developing our understanding of how they are born, through advances like this, we are deepening our knowledge of how our sun and the solar system came to be.

“A very interesting discovery from this new image is that when a star is born it emits highly supersonic beams of matter that can extend for several light years.”

And he added: “The research reveals that the youngest stars appear to emit beams of almost pure molecules, contrary to what astronomers previously thought, and they move very slowly.

“It is currently a mystery how such beams are produced without the addition of atoms and ions.”

The new research has been published in the journal Nature.