Un joven sistema estelar captado mientras forma múltiples estrellas
Por primera vez, los astrónomos han visto un polvoriento disco de material alrededor de una estrella joven fragmentándose para formar un sistema múltiple de estrellas. Esta imagen contiene nuevas observaciones de ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), en Chile, ¡y nos muestra el proceso en plena acción!
Las estrellas se forman en nubes cósmicas de gas y polvo, cuando el fino material de las nubes colapsa gravitatoriamente en núcleos más densos que, a su vez, atraen material adicional hacia el interior. El material que cae hacia el interior forma un disco giratorio alrededor de la estrella joven y se consume lentamente. Finalmente, la joven estrella reúne la suficiente masa como para generar la temperatura y la presión necesarias en su centro que acabarán desencadenando la fusión nuclear.
Las estrellas que no tienen compañera — como nuestro Sol — no son tan comunes como pensábamos. De hecho, casi la mitad de las estrellas de nuestra galaxia tiene, al menos, una compañera, ¡y algunas son aún más sociables! Estudios previos indican que las estrellas que se encuentran en sistemas múltiples tienden a estar o bien relativamente cerca una de la otra, dentro de una distancia de aproximadamente 500 veces la distancia Tierra-Sol (conocida como unidad astronómica o UA), o bastante más lejos, a unas 1.000 UA.
Teniendo en cuenta estas distancias tan diferentes, los científicos concluyeron que existían dos mecanismos principales de producción de sistemas de estrellas múltiples: o bien la nube original colapsó de forma inestable y se fragmentó, haciendo que cada fragmento resultante acabase formando una nueva estrella, o bien el disco en rotación alrededor de una estrella ya existente se fragmentó, con el mismo resultado. Es más probable que los sistemas con mayor separación se formen mediante el primer proceso (tal y como sugieren recientes estudios observacionales) y los sistemas estelares cuyas estrellas están más cerca las unas de las otras, se formen a través del segundo (aunque hay pruebas limitadas de este proceso).
New data from ALMA have now offered observational evidence of this conclusion. This image shows the second process in action, as seen in the young triple star system L1448 IRS3B. The trio are still deeply embedded within their parent cloud in the constellation of Perseus, some 750 light-years from Earth, and are hungrily feeding from material in the surrounding disc. ALMA has revealed this disc to have a spiral structure, a feature that indicates gravitational instability.
Los nuevos datos de ALMA ofrecen evidencia observacional de esta conclusión. Esta imagen muestra el segundo proceso en acción, como se ve en el joven sistema estelar triple L1448 IRS3B. El trío aún está profundamente embebido en la nube parental en la constelación de Perseo, a unos 750 años luz de la Tierra, y se alimentan vorazmente del material del disco circundante. ALMA ha revelado que este disco tiene una estructura espiral, una característica que indica inestabilidad gravitatoria.
Notas:
El conjunto ALMA, (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) es una instalación astronómica internacional fruto de la colaboración entre Europa, Norteamérica y Asia Oriental, en cooperación con la República de Chile. La construcción y operaciones de ALMA están lideradas por ESO en representación de Europa; por el Observatorio Nacional de Radioastronomía (NRAO, National Radio Astronomy Observatory) en representación de América del Norte; y por el Observatorio Astronómico Nacional de Japón (NAOJ, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) en representación de Asia Oriental. El Observatorio Conjunto ALMA (Joint ALMA Observatory, JAO) proporciona al proyecto la unificación tanto del liderazgo como de la gestión de la construcción, puesta a punto y operaciones de ALMA.
Enlaces
- Artículo científico relacionado: “A triple protostar system formed via fragmentation of a gravitationally unstable disk”, por J. Tobin et al., publicado en la revista Nature el 27 de octubre.
- Nota de prensa del NRAO
ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/J.J. Tobin (University of Oklahoma/Leiden University)
Sobre la imagen
| Identificador: | potw1644a |
| Idioma: | es-cl |
| Tipo: | Observación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 31 de Octubre de 2016 a las 06:00 |
| Tamaño: | 1200 x 1204 px |
Sobre el objeto
| Nombre: | [BC86b] LDN 1448 IRS 3B, L1448 IRS3B |
| Tipo: | Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Protostar Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Multiple |
| Distancia: | 750 años luz |
| Constellation: | Aries |
Fondo de pantalla
Coordenadas
| Position (RA): | 3 25 36.36 |
| Position (Dec): | 30° 45' 14.92" |
| Field of view: | 0.07 x 0.07 arcminutes |
| Orientación: | El norte está a -0.0° a la izquierda de la vertical |
Colores y filtros
| Banda | Longitud de onda | Telescopio |
|---|---|---|
| Milímetro | 1.5 mm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array |
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