Deep in the NGC 1333 star-forming region, a young star is telling its life story through a series of glowing, nested rings. For the first time, astronomers have “read” these rings like a cosmic diary, linking explosive outbursts of the past to the physics of star birth today.
The Discovery: A Tomographic View of Space.
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (NSF VLA) have captured unprecedented detail of a cosmic jet launched by the protostar system SVS 13.
Located approximately 1,000 light-years from Earth, this system has long been a point of interest. However, new high-resolution imaging has revealed something extraordinary: a sequence of nested molecular rings that act as a “time-stamped” record of the star’s growth.
Why This Matters for Science.
For decades, scientists have theorized that the jets launched by newborn stars are the result of violent “growth spurts”—moments when material falls rapidly onto the star. This new data confirms that theory with startling precision.
“Our observations show that these jets are not just dramatic side effects of star birth—they are also faithful record-keepers,” explains Guillermo Blázquez-Calero, co-lead author of the study. Each ring in the jet corresponds to a specific outburst from the star’s past, allowing researchers to reconstruct a chronological history of its development.
Highlights of the Research:
- The “CT Scan” of Space: Using ALMA, the team performed a “tomographic” reconstruction, fitting over 400 individual rings to map how the jet carves through surrounding gas.
- A Direct Link to the 90s: The youngest shell observed by the team aligns perfectly with a recorded optical and infrared outburst from SVS 13 that occurred in the early 1990s.
- Speed and Scale: These ultra-thin shells are only a few dozen astronomical units thick and move at blistering speeds of up to 100 kilometers per second.
Shaping the Future of Planets.
This breakthrough doesn’t just tell us about the star itself; it provides vital clues about the environment where planets are born. These episodic outbursts shape the protoplanetary disks—the swirling dust and gas that eventually coalesce into planets like Earth.
By understanding how these jets function, astronomers are gaining a clearer picture of the chaotic early days of our own solar system.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Observation.
This discovery was made possible by decades of groundwork laid by the NSF VLA, which first identified the SVS 13 binary system. By combining that legacy data with ALMA’s modern precision, humanity has unlocked a new way to view the evolution of the universe—one “time-stamp” at a time.