Een babyster voeden met een hamburger van stof
Deze fascinerende foto ziet er misschien als een verzameling verfklodders uit, maar eigenlijk is het een opname in hoge resolutie van een pasgeboren ster omhuld door stof. Amper 1300 lichtjaar van ons vandaan bevindt zich in de Orionnevel de opmerkelijk jonge ster HH212. De gemiddelde levensduur van een lichte ster zoals deze bedraagt ongeveer 100 miljard jaar, maar deze ster is slechts 40.000 jaar oud – echt nog een baby in kosmische termen.
In stervormingsgebieden woedt er in de kern van de reusachtige moleculaire wolken een voortdurende strijd; zwaartekracht versus de druk van gas en stof. Indien de zwaartekracht wint, zal het gas en het stof instorten tot een hete, compacte kern die uiteindelijk vlam vat en ontstaat er een protoster. Het overgebleven gas en stof vormen een draaiende schijf rond deze babyster en in veel stersystemen smelt dit uiteindelijk samen en worden planeten gevormd. Dergelijke piepjonge, protostellaire schijven zijn moeilijk op beeld vast te leggen omdat ze relatief klein zijn, maar de uitzonderlijk hoge resolutie van de Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) maakt het mogelijk om inzicht te krijgen in de complexe details van ster- en planetenvorming.
Een nadere blik op HH 212 onthult een opvallende, koele, donkere strook van stof die doorheen de schijf loopt en ingeklemd is tussen twee heldere gebieden die door de protoster opgloeien. Het resultaat lijkt op een kosmische ‘hamburger’. Het is voor het eerst dat astronomen een dergelijke stofstrook in de vroegste fasen van stervorming ontdekt hebben, en bijgevolg zou dit aanwijzingen kunnen verschaffen over de manier waarop planetaire systemen gevormd worden.
Credit:ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/ Lee et al.
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | potw1720a |
| Taal: | nl |
| Type: | Observatie |
| Publicatiedatum: | 15 mei 2017 06:00 |
| Grootte: | 2683 x 1788 px |
Over het object
| Naam: | HH 212 |
| Type: | Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Disk : Protoplanetary |
| Afstand: | 1300 lichtjaren |
| Constellation: | Orion |
Achtergrond
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 5 43 51.41 |
| Position (Dec): | -1° 2' 53.10" |
| Field of view: | 0.01 x 0.01 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is -0.0° left of vertical |
Kleuren & filters
| Band | Golflengte | Telescoop |
|---|---|---|
| Millimeter 350 GHz | 856 μm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 7 |
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