James Webb Telescope spots Cosmic hourglass; unveils beginning of new star

Located 15,00,000 kilometers away from Earth, James Webb Telescope (JWST) has captured the once hidden feature of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, Nasa and the European Space Agency said in a recent release.

The astronomers used Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to observe the protostar. The dark cloud L1527 is just 1,00,000 years old (a relatively young body). Protostars like these, which are still cocooned in a dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they become full-fledged stars.

"These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region are only visible in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)." The release said.

This latest discovery has provided an "insight into the beginnings of a new star."

The protostar is hidden from view within the “neck” of an hourglass shape. An edge-on protoplanetary disk is seen as a dark line across the middle of the neck. And light from this protostar leaks above and below this disk, illuminating cavities within the surrounding gas and dust, the statement explains.

As the material shoots away from the protostar and collides with surrounding matter, clouds coloured blue and orange in the representative-colour infrared image are created. The clouds coloured blue and orange are the most prevalent features of the region. The colours themselves are due to layers of dust between Webb and the clouds. "The blue areas are where the dust is thinnest. The thicker the layer of dust, the less blue light is able to escape, creating pockets of orange."

This discovery has revealed filaments of molecular hydrogen that have been shocked as the protostar ejects material away from it. 

"Shocks and turbulence inhibit the formation of new stars, which would otherwise form all throughout the cloud. As a result, the protostar dominates the space, taking much of the material for itself. " the report said.

The disk that can be seen as a dark band in the image in front of the bright center, is around the solar system's size. 

This view of L1527 provides a window into what our Sun and solar system looked like in their infancy.

The James Webb Space Telescope is an international space observatory led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.