March 29, 2024

Nebula Churns Out Massive B-Type Stars in New Hubble Image

The star-forming nebula (G035.20-0.74) in this Hubble image is in the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Tan (Chalmers University of Technology); Processing; Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America).
This star-forming nebula in the constellation Aquila, G035.20-0.74, is known for producing a specific kind of massive star known as a B-Type star. These stars are hot, young, blue stars up to five times hotter than our Sun.
These fast-moving jets, which form as gas gathers around freshly forming stars and last for just about 100,000 years, are understood to play a function in star development. Astronomers were interested to discover whether such jets affect the formation of huge stars similar to the method they affect the formation of lower-mass stars.
Scientists integrated infrared observations from Hubble with those from radio telescopes in order to see inside these dusty star-forming areas. They found a jet of product with residential or commercial properties comparable to jets related to young, low-mass stars. This indicates that the mechanism developing the light released by these jets is similar in young stars of different masses, up to 10 times the mass of the Sun.

The star-forming nebula (G035.20-0.74) in this Hubble image remains in the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Tan (Chalmers University of Technology), and DSS; Processing; Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America).