Stellar jets twist and turn through space in entrancing new photos

Young stars emit stellar jets in stunning new photos from the Gemini South telescope.

The stellar jets are the result of star formation. Their appearance is caused by the attraction of companion stars, according to the National Science Foundation.

The two streams of ionized gas emitted in opposite directions can be seen in the new photos taken by the Gemini South telescope, located on a mountain in the Chilean Andes and operated by NOIRLab.

Young stars illuminate a stellar nursery.

Astronomers can counteract the effects of space blur and capture crystal-clear observations of winding stellar jets with the help of the 8.1-meter optical/infrared telescope.

The first image shows a stellar jet located 10,000 light-years from Earth. It is close to the boundary between Sagittarius and the Snake Bearer.

Officials said in the NOIRLab statement that the object in the image was close to the star Ophiuchus.

MHO 1502 is a stellar jet located about 2,000 light-years from Earth. The knotted appearance of this stellar jet is thought to be the result of two stars that periodically emit outflows of gas.

Some stellar jets can be wandering or knotted, and officials said in the statement that the shape of the jets is related to a characteristic of the object or objects that created them.

The cloud embedded in M HO 2147 is a dense region of gas that doesn't emit much light. The jet is produced by a young star called IRAS 17527-2439, and has changed direction over time, causing the outflows on either side of the star to twist and turn through space.

The system may be a triple star system separated by more than 300 billion kilometers. The jet's changing direction may be caused by the interactions between nearby stars.

The central star has sculpted the winding appearance of M HO 2147. There is an area of star formation known as the HII region, which may explain the knotted appearance of M HO.

The findings were published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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