The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the existence of twin stars. An incredible surprise in an area studied for half a century
NASA has discovered that a long-studied star is actually a pair of twin stars. A surprise guaranteed by James Webb Space Telescopewhich revealed the reality of the facts when directed towards a group of young stars known as WL 20.
A region studied since the 1970s. During this large period of time, five telescopes were exploited, but only Webb’s unprecedented resolution and specialized instruments were able to reveal the presence of a pair of twin stars. All formed between 2 and 4 million years ago.
The discovery
This discovery would not have been possible without the aid of the medium infrared instrument (MIRI) which the Webb telescope can boast. What was analyzed was presented at the 244th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The confirmation that the twin stars have is then added to the main detection gas jets which propagate in space starting from their north and south poles.
Here are the words of Mary Barsony, astronomer and lead author of the article describing the results obtained: “We were left speechless. We have studied this source for decades, certain that we know it quite well. Without MIRI, however, we would never have known that these were two stars or that these jets existed. It’s like having new eyes”.
However, the discoveries did not end there. Thanks to observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a group of more than 60 radio antennas located in Chile, it was possible to reveal the presence of disks of dust and gas all around both stars. Considering the age of the stars, it is possible that planets are forming in these disks.
The combination of the results highlights how the twin stars are moving closer end of this initial phase of their life. This means that scientists will have the opportunity to carefully study the intermediate phase and the transition from youth to adulthood of stars.
Stellar jets
WL 20 is located in a very large and well-studied star-forming region: Rho Ophiuchi. It is a giant cloud of gas and dust placed about 400 light years from Earth. To be honest, WL 20 lies behind thick clouds of gas and dust. This obviously blocks most of the visible light from the stars present.
The great advantage provided by Webb is in the detection of slightly longer wavelengths, infrared, capable of passing through these layers. However, NASA’s analysis also includes other aspects. It should be known that radio waves are often able to penetrate the dust layer. However, they do not reveal the same characteristics as infrared light. Gas disks also emit light in a range known as submillimeter. This also penetrates the gas clouds and everything is placed under the eye of ALMA.
This additional data set, if it had been the only one available, could have led scientists to mistakenly believe the existence of a single disk. Only MIRI was able to observe the two stellar jets.
