Tag Archives: Taurus

Hubble Observes Reflection Nebula in the Taurus Molecular Cloud

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Astronomers employing the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an impressive image of the reflective nebula GN 04.32.8.

This Hubble image showcases GN 04.32.8, a reflective nebula located in the constellation Taurus, approximately 480 light years distant. The color composite was formed from images captured in visible and near-infrared light, utilizing data obtained through two filters. Different hues are assigned to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/G.Duchêne.

GN 04.32.8 is situated around 480 light years from the constellation Taurus.

Also referred to as DG 41, it forms a small segment of the stellar nursery known as the Taurus Molecular Cloud.

“Reflective nebulae are composed of dust clouds in space that do not produce their own light, unlike other types of nebulae,” an expert stated.

“Light from nearby stars illuminates them by scattering off the dust.”

“Due to this scattering effect, many reflective nebulae, including GN 04.32.8, often appear blue.”

GN 04.32.8 is illuminated by a trio of bright stars at the heart of the Hubble image, chiefly the variable star V1025 Tauri.

“One of these stars partially overlaps with the nebula. This is another variable star called HP Tauri, classified among the stars in Tauri, thus resembling other varieties of stars found in the broader molecular complex in Taurus,” the astronomer explained.

“It’s not unusual for T-Tauri stars to inhabit such prolific stellar nursery environments, as they are very dynamic and turbulent in their early evolutionary stages.”

“The three stars are known as HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3 and are believed to be gravitationally bound, forming a triple system.”

“Observers with keen eyes might spot a small, crushed orange area just outside the center, beneath the nebula, which intersects with dark lines,” the researchers noted.

“This marks a newly formed protostar, concealed within a protoplanetary disk that obscures some of its light.”

“Disks like these are ideal subjects for study because they are oriented edge-on from our viewpoint.”

“We are utilizing Hubble to investigate this phenomenon and to glean insights about the types of exoplanets that could form within such disks.”

Source: www.sci.news

Webb detects ethereal Herbig Halo objects in the Taurus Molecular Cloud.

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Using Near-infrared camera (nircam) Mid-infrared instrument (Mil)Advanced on a James Webbspace Telescope, astronomers took a stunning image of an edge-on-protoplanetary disc around a Herbig Halo object HH 30The Dark Cloud LDN 1551, is located in Taurus Molecular Cloud.

This Webb/nircam/miri shows the Herbig-Haro object HH ​​30. et al.

The Herbig-Haro object is a small bright patch of nebula associated with protostars in the star-forming region.

These structures were first observed in the 19th century by American astronomer Sherburn Wesley Burnham, but were not recognized as a distinct type of ejection nebula until the 1940s.

The first astronomers to study them in detail were George Harbigue and Guillermo Halo, and they were later named.

Herbig Halo objects are formed in very specific circumstances. Hot gas discharged by the newborn star collides with the gas, hitting it at a speed of up to 250,000 kmh (155,000 mph), creating a bright shock wave.

They come in a wide range of shapes. The basic configuration is usually the same. Twin jets of hot gases are ejected in the opposite direction from the forming stars and flow through interstellar space.

“HH 30 is an example of where this effluent gas takes the form of a narrow jet,” the astronomer said.

“The source star is on one end of the jet and is hidden behind an edge-on-protoplanetary disc illuminated by the star.”

Using Webb Instruments, researchers investigate HH 30 objects in great detail.

They also analyzed data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and Atacama's Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array (ALMA).

“Long-wavelength data from Alma tracks the location of millimeter-sized dust particles in a narrow area on the middle surface of the disk,” they said.

“Short wavelength infrared data from Webb reveals the distribution of smaller dust grains.”

“These grains are one millionth of a meter in diameter. They are the size of a single bacteria.”

“Large dust grains are concentrated in the most dense portions of the disc, while small grains are much more widely used.”

“Combined with Alma's sharp radio-wavelength eyes, Webb's observations show that large dust particles must migrate within the disk and precipitate into a thin layer,” they added.

“Creating narrow, dense layers of dust is an important step in the formation of the planet.”

“In this densely populated area, dust grains together form pebbles, and ultimately form the planet itself.”

“In addition to the behavior of dust grains, images of Webb, Hubble and Alma reveal several different structures nested with each other.”

“A high-speed jet of gas appears at a 90-degree angle from the narrow central disc.”

“The narrow jet is surrounded by wider, cone-shaped spills.”

“Enclosing the cone runoff is a broad nebula that reflects the light from the young stars embedded in the disc.”

“Together, these data reveal that HH 30 is a dynamic location, where small dust grains and huge jets play a role in the formation of a new planet.”

Survey results It will be published in Astrophysical Journal.

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Ryozaki et al. 2025. JWST imaging of edge-on protranetary discs. IV. HH 30 disc mid-infrared dust scattering. APJin press; Arxiv: 2412.07523

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope finds three-star system in Taurus

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The Hubble team has released an astonishing image. NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the triple star system HP Tau.

About 550 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, three dazzling stars, HP Tau, shine brightly from the cavity of a reflection nebula in a new Hubble image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Duchene, University of Grenoble I / Gladys Kober, NASA and Catholic University of America.

HP Tau is a triple star system located approximately 550 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

The system, also known as EPIC 247592463, TIC 118521708, or IRAS 04328+2248, consists of the variable stars HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3.

HP Tau is one of the stars. T Taurus a type of young variable star that has not yet begun nuclear fusion but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to the Sun.

“T Tauri stars tend to be less than 10 million years old, compared to our Sun, which is about 4.6 billion years old, but they formed when they were shrouded in clouds of dust and gas. “They are often discovered as they are,” Hubble astronomers said.

“Like other variable stars, HP Tau's brightness changes over time.”

“The T Tauri star is known to have periodic and random fluctuations in brightness.”

“Random fluctuations can be caused by chaotic conditions in a developing young star, such as instability in the accretion disk of dust and gas around the star, material from that disk falling into the star and being consumed, and flares on the star's surface. It may be due to the nature of

“The periodic changes may be due to giant sunspots rotating in and out of view.”

“Clouds of gas and dust glow with reflected light as they orbit the star.”

“Reflection nebulae do not themselves emit visible light, but they shine when light from nearby stars reflects off gas and dust, much like fog illuminated by a car's headlights.”

Hubble studied the HP-tau system as part of its study of protoplanetary disks, disks of material around stars that coalesce into planets over millions of years.

Source: www.sci.news