Webb’s exquisite details reveal a chance, random alignment of a protostellar outflow and a distant spiral galaxy.
When we observe the universe, we’re looking at a three-dimensional space projected onto a two-dimensional image. As a result, objects that appear close together in the sky can actually be separated by vast distances and have no real connection to one another.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured a striking example of this: a nearby protostellar outflow, known as Herbig-Haro 49/50, appears to align with a much more distant spiral galaxy. This new infrared composite image offers an incredibly detailed look at the outflow from a young star, thanks to its relative proximity to Earth. With Webb’s sharp resolution, scientists can study the fine structure of the jet and gain deeper insight into how these energetic outflows influence their surrounding environments during the early stages of star formation.
Webb Space Telescope Unmasks True Nature of the Cosmic Tornado
Craving something sweet for the eyes? This striking image might do the trick. It shows a chance alignment of Herbig-Haro 49/50, a frothy-looking outflow from a nearby young star, with a colorful, more distant spiral galaxy. Captured using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the composite image combines data from its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), offering a remarkably detailed view of this dynamic region.
Herbig-Haro objects are glowing clouds of gas formed when high-speed jets from a forming star slam into surrounding material. These jets can stretch for light-years, generating shock waves that heat up the gas. As the gas cools, it emits light across visible and infrared wavelengths, making these objects ideal for study with infrared telescopes like Webb.
From “Cosmic Tornado” to Galactic Surprise
When NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope observed this region in 2006 (see image above), scientists dubbed HH 49/50 the “Cosmic Tornado” because of its twisted shape. But the nature of the bright, fuzzy feature at the tip remained unclear. Now, with Webb’s sharper resolution, astronomers can see fine details in the shocked gas, confirm that the fuzzy object is actually a distant spiral galaxy, and even spot a backdrop filled with faraway galaxies.
HH 49/50 is located in the Chamaeleon I Cloud complex, one of the nearest active star formation regions in our Milky Way, which is creating numerous low-mass stars similar to our Sun. This cloud complex is likely similar to the environment that our Sun formed in. Past observations of this region show that the HH 49/50 outflow is moving away from us at speeds of 60-190 miles per second (100-300 kilometers per second) and is just one feature of a larger outflow.
This visualization examines the three-dimensional structure of Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50) as seen in near- and mid-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Webb’s Instruments Reveal Stunning Detail
Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI observations of HH 49/50 trace the location of glowing hydrogen molecules, carbon monoxide molecules, and energized grains of dust, represented in orange and red, as the protostellar jet slams into the region. Webb’s observations probe details on small spatial scales that will help astronomers to model the properties of the jet and understand how it is affecting the surrounding material.
The arc-shaped features in HH 49/50, similar to a water wake created by a speeding boat, point back to the source of this outflow. Based on past observations, scientists suspect that a protostar known as Cederblad 110 IRS4 is a plausible driver of the jet activity. Located roughly 1.5 light-years away from HH 49/50 (off the lower right corner of the Webb image), CED 110 IRS4 is a Class I protostar. Class I protostars are young objects (tens of thousands to a million years old) in the prime time of gaining mass. They usually have a discernable disk of material surrounding it that is still falling onto the protostar. Scientists recently used Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI observations to study this protostar and obtain an inventory of the icy composition of its environment.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes 0.05 years (or about 18 days) for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.
The scale bar is also labeled in arcseconds, which is a measure of angular distance on the sky. One arcsecond is equal an angular measurement of 1/3600 of one degree. There are 60 arcminutes in a degree and 60 arcseconds in an arcminute. (The full Moon has an angular diameter of about 30 arcminutes.) The actual size of an object that covers one arcsecond on the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.
This image shows invisible near- and mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam and MIRI filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
A Puzzling Outcrop and Jet Behavior
These detailed Webb images of the arcs in HH 49/50 can more precisely pinpoint the direction to the jet source, but not every arc points back in the same direction. For example, there is an unusual outcrop feature (at the top right of the main outflow) which could be another chance superposition of a different outflow, related to the slow precession of the intermittent jet source. Alternatively, this feature could be a result of the main outflow breaking apart.
The Spiraling Galaxy in the Background
The galaxy that appears by happenstance at the tip of HH 49/50 is a much more distant, face-on spiral galaxy. It has a prominent central bulge represented in blue that shows the location of older stars. The bulge also shows hints of “side lobes” suggesting that this could be a barred-spiral galaxy. Reddish clumps within the spiral arms show the locations of warm dust and groups of forming stars. The galaxy even displays evacuated bubbles in these dusty regions, similar to nearby galaxies observed by Webb as part of the PHANGS program.
A Lucky Cosmic Lineup
Webb has captured these two unassociated objects in a lucky alignment. Over thousands of years, the edge of HH 49/50 will move outwards and eventually appear to cover up the distant galaxy.
Herbig-Haro 49/50 is located about 625 light-years from Earth in the constellation Chamaeleon.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s leading space science observatory, designed to explore the deepest questions about our universe. From uncovering mysteries within our own solar system to studying planets orbiting distant stars, Webb is helping scientists piece together the origins of galaxies, stars, and potentially life itself. This groundbreaking mission is an international collaboration led by NASA, with key contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
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