James Webb Space Telescope unveils region with newborn star: See stunning photo

A stunning corner of the cosmos was recently revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope, and astronomers think the find will unveil more about the mysteries of both star and planet formation.

Hiding 450 light-years away in a dark molecular cloud in the Taurus constellation, the young protostar that Webb illuminated is one that has long been of interest to astronomers. The protostar, called HH 30, is a what's known in astronomy as a Herbig-Haro object – a bright patch of cosmic emission associated with newborn stars.

The Hubble Space Telescope was the first to discover HH 30. Now, Webb, the most powerful instrument of its kind ever put into orbit, has investigated the stellar formation in unprecedented detail.

Webb's target was a protoplanetary disk of dense gas and dust that rotates around and surrounds a newborn star.

An international team of astronomers then combined Webb’s observations with not only those previously obtained by Hubble, but also the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA.) The astronomers, who published their findings Feb. 3 in The Astrophysical Journal, believe that by studying the luminous region, they can learn more about how dust grains combine with massive jets to form planets.

How stars are born: Webb helps reveal more of planetary disc

Star formation is a complex process that has long held a degree of mystery for astronomers.

Stars form when an accumulation of gas and dust collapses because of gravity. Scientists think that generally what follows is the formation of planets, which emerge from the giant, doughnut-shaped disk of gas and dust that circles young stars.

HH 30 is a luminous region surrounding a newborn star, or protostar, which is forming as stellar winds or jets of gas spewing forth form shockwaves while colliding with nearby gas and dust.

Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope had previously revealed a silhouette of the protoplanetary disk as seen edge-on, meaning only the disk’s side was visible in the angle at which it was seen from Earth. But unlike its predecessor, Webb can observe the universe in infrared light, which allowed the cosmic observatory to unveil more features of the region.

The team of astronomers combined images from Webb, Hubble and ALMA so that they could study the appearance of the disk in multiple wavelengths. The observations were then been detailed in a new image that the European Space Agency released in February as its "picture of the month."

In the image, different wavelengths of light are combined and represented in various colors. A dark line across the center is the disc itself, where the hidden star is emanating in a slight glow. A band going straight up is a jet, with a tail trailing to the left side of the image.

Researchers observe crucial step in planet formation

Data from both ALMA and Webb allowed the researchers to trace how dust grains move and are distributed within the disc in a process scientists believe is the building block for planetary formation. As the grains clump together to form small rocks, it kickstarts a process for planets to take shape.

Nested alongside the rocky clumps are several outflows of gas. One is a narrow "high-velocity jet of gas," according to the researchers, while another surrounding it is a cone-shaped outflow shrouded by a wide nebula reflecting the light of the new star embedded within the disk.

"Together, these data reveal HH 30 to be a dynamic place, where tiny dust grains and massive jets alike play a role in the formation of new planets," the researchers wrote.

What is the James Webb Space Telescope?

Noted as the world's premier space science observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope is part of an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Ever since the instrument launched in 2021 into space, astronomers have increasingly turned to the powerful observatory to make new cosmic discoveries. Webb, which orbits the sun – unlike Hubble, which orbits Earth – is outfitted with a gold-coated mirror and powerful infrared instruments that allow it to observe the cosmos like no instrument before.

In that time, the telescope has offered stunning views of our solar system's planets, galaxies, stars and other parts of the universe never glimpsed before. Many cosmic discoveries, like the observations of HH 30, have only been made possible due to data Webb obtains and is made available to researchers.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: James Webb Space Telescope unveils region with young star: See image