NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the most detailed portrait of these stars to date. An actively forming binary star has been jetting in both directions for thousands of years. Although Herbig-Haro 46/47 has been studied by many telescopes, both ground-based and in space, since the 1950s, Webb was the first to capture them in high-resolution near-infrared light. With Webb, we can now better understand the activity of stars past and present and look at the dusty blue nebula that appears black in visible light images surrounding them. Over time, researchers will be able to gain new details about how stars form.

Six near-infrared images from the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) on the James Webb Space Telescope make up this Herbig-Haro 46/47 cluster.

The north and east compass arrows indicate the direction of the image in the sky. Note that in the sky, the relationship between north and east (as seen from below) is inverted relative to the direction arrows on the world map (as seen from above). This image shows invisible near-infrared light waves converted into visible light colors. The color key indicates which NIRCam filters are used during light collection. The name color of each filter is the color of visible light used to represent infrared light passing through that filter.

The scale is marked with minutes of arc, which is a measure of the angular distance in the sky. One arc minute is equal to one angle measurement equal to 1/60th of a degree. (The angular diameter of the full moon is about 30 arc minutes.) The actual size of an object occupying one arc minute of the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the antics of a pair of young, actively forming stars known as Herbig-Haro 46/47 in high-resolution near-infrared light. To find them, follow the bright pink and red diffraction clusters until you reach the center: the stars are in the orange-white dot. As they continue to gain mass, they are buried deep within a disk of gas and dust that feeds their growth. The disk is not visible, but its shadow is visible in the two dark conical regions surrounding the central stars.

Details and dynamics

Among the most characteristic features are bilateral petals, which radiate from actively forming central stars and are depicted in fiery orange. Much of this material was ejected from these stars as they continually sucked out and expelled the gas and dust that surrounded them for thousands of years.

This picture shows the science behind Webb diffraction amplification patterns by showing how Webb diffraction spikes are formed, the effects of the primary mirror and supports, and the contribution of each to the Webb diffraction amplifications. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

When material from recent emissions collides with old material, it changes the shape of these particles. This activity is like a large fountain that opens and closes in a rapid but haphazard pattern, causing agitation in the pool below. Some jets launch more material, while others launch at higher speeds. This probably has to do with how much material falls on the stars at a given time.

Recent stellar emissions are shown in filamentous blue. They pass just below the red horizontal diffraction burst at 2 o’clock. Along the right side, these emissions create more distinct undulating patterns. They are disconnected at points and end in a strange, irregular light purple circle in the thickest orange area. Lighter blue curved lines also appear on the left, near the central stars, but are sometimes obscured by a bright red burst of diffraction. Source