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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope unveils the enigmatic FS Tau star system in its latest image capture. |
Jets of vibrant energy streak across the cosmos as FS Tau, a newly forming star system, takes center stage in NASA’s latest Hubble Space Telescope image. Situated within the stellar nursery of FS Tau, FS Tau A and FS Tau B (Haro 6-5B) stand as celestial siblings amidst a tapestry of gas and dust. FS Tau A, a luminous beacon at the image’s core, contrasts with FS Tau B, veiled by a dense shroud of dust to the far right.
At a mere 2.8 million years old, FS Tau is a youthful ensemble compared to our mature Sun, which boasts an age of approximately 4.6 billion years. FS Tau B, a protostar in the making, is ensconced within a protoplanetary disk—a precursor to planetary formation—its silhouette delineated by a thick dust lane.
The evolutionary journey of FS Tau B is illuminated by its transformation into a T Tauri star, a phase marked by fluctuations in brightness as nuclear fusion looms on the horizon. As gas clouds collapse and material accretes, the protostar radiates with fervent energy, embodying the dynamism inherent in variable stars.
Within FS Tau’s cosmic theater, FS Tau A performs as a binary T Tauri system, its dual stars engaged in an elegant celestial dance. A captivating display of cosmic ballet unfolds as FS Tau B unleashes an asymmetric, double-sided jet, a testament to the protostar’s vigorous activity. This striking phenomenon, rendered in shades of blue, underscores the complexity of stellar birth.
Classified as a Herbig-Haro object, FS Tau B exemplifies the collision of young star jets with surrounding gas and dust clouds, birthing luminous nebulas that adorn the cosmic landscape.
Nestled within the Taurus-Auriga region, approximately 450 light-years away, FS Tau beckons astronomers with its prolific star-forming activity. Hubble’s keen eye captures the subtleties of edge-on dust disks, unraveling the mysteries of stellar genesis in this captivating corner of the cosmos.