(ORDO NEWS) — An international team of astronomers has identified a previously unknown “molecular bubble” that is located in a stellar nursery called Barnard-18, towards the constellation Taurus.
The authors of the work called the mysterious structure a “molecular bubble” because it supposedly “floats” in a molecular gas cloud.
The structure is located deep in the center of a thick cloud of gas and dust. It is over 450 light-years away from us. There is a version that the “molecular bubble” is an early stage in the formation of two young stars.
Until now, astronomers have been able to observe only one such object.
They note that the bubble is associated with an ejection of material recorded by instruments, and this indicates signs of the existence of a growing young star.
Star formation is a process studied in theory. It is impossible to trace it in practice, a person will not have enough time for this. Computer simulations show that the process of star formation is very complex.
First, a dense ice cloud is formed, consisting of fine dust particles and a variety of gases.
At some point, the cloud is strongly compressed and “collapses” in a whirlpool under the influence of its own gravity. It begins to take more and more material from the space surrounding it.
When the compressed cloud gains sufficient mass, density and pressure, thermonuclear processes occur in its core, which begin to produce hydrogen.
Further, as the young star accumulates mass, it begins to “devour” the space around it even more greedily.
At the same time, not all of the surrounding material enters the star, some is accelerated along the magnetic field lines of the protostar to its poles and from there it escapes into space in the form of astrophysical jets.
These “outflows” were identified in the study of the molecular bubble. Scientists believe that the bubble is a very young stellar pair, whose age does not exceed a million years.
This means that they have not yet begun the process of hydrogen fusion and are still accumulating mass.
According to calculations, these stars became active only about 70 thousand years ago, at the same time they began to form a giant molecular bubble.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.