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NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Reveals New Details of the Orion Nebula’s Star Formation.

Image
By Surendra Uikey

 

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42), the nearest star-forming region to Earth, located about 1,500 light-years away.



A captivating new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope offers an extraordinary look into the Orion Nebula, the nearest massive star-forming region to Earth. Located just 1,500 light-years away, this nebula is visible to the naked eye below the three stars forming Orion's "belt." The region is home to hundreds of newborn stars, including two protostars featured in the image: HOPS 150 and HOPS 153.


Named after the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, conducted with ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory, the protostars HOPS 150 and HOPS 153 provide key insights into the early stages of star formation. HOPS 150, visible in the upper-right corner of the image, is a binary star system, with two young stars orbiting one another. These protostars are surrounded by small dusty disks, where material from the surrounding nebula feeds the stars, contributing to their growth. A dark line cutting across the glow of these protostars represents a vast cloud of gas and dust, over 2,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, that is falling in toward the stars.


HOPS 150 is midway in its development, still emitting significant infrared light, signaling its progression toward becoming fully mature stars. Meanwhile, a colorful outflow jet stretches across the left side of the image. This jet originates from the nearby, younger protostar HOPS 153, which is too deeply embedded within its birth nebula for Hubble to capture its details. However, the jet, which is energetically interacting with surrounding gas and dust, is visible as it cuts through the nebula.


The transition from protostar to mature star for HOPS 153 will dramatically impact its surroundings. As material continues to fall onto the protostar, its jets will release energy, shaping the surrounding environment by heating and stirring up nearby gas. This process could even influence the formation of new stars in the region and may play a role in slowing down the growth of the protostar itself.


This image from the Hubble Space Telescope offers a glimpse into the dynamic and ongoing process of star formation within the Orion Nebula, showcasing the birth of stars that will eventually shape the future of the galaxy.



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