Ophiuchus, a young star constellation, covered in a dense fog of gas and studied by astronomers for decades has been found to be a 'twin.'
| Image:NASAAdvertisementWashington: Ophiuchus, a young star constellation, covered in a dense fog of gas and studied by astronomers for decades has been found to be a 'twin.'
the twin stars reside about 400 light-years from the Earth in the WL 20 group and are less than a million years old.
The surprise doesn't end here, the team of scientists revealed that disks of dust and gas encircle both stars.
The MIRI also revealed that the twin stars have matching jets of gas streaming into space from their respective north and south poles.
Ophiuchus, a young star constellation, covered in a dense fog of gas and studied by astronomers for decades has been found to be a 'twin.' or 'duo.' | Image:NASA
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Washington: Ophiuchus, a young star constellation, covered in a dense fog of gas and studied by astronomers for decades has been found to be a 'twin.' or 'duo.' As per experts. the twin stars reside about 400 light-years from the Earth in the WL 20 group and are less than a million years old.
The surprise doesn't end here, the team of scientists revealed that disks of dust and gas encircle both stars. This means, that the twins appear to have pushed away the billowy orange clouds within which they formed, indicating that their birth processes are nearing completion, and indicating after the completion, the astronomers could observe the stars as transition into adulthood.
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The spot was made by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI. Despite being studied since the 1970s with five telescopes, it took Webb's unparalleled resolution and specialised instruments to uncover what researchers had long thought was a single star, NASA said in a press release.
The MIRI also revealed that the twin stars have matching jets of gas streaming into space from their respective north and south poles.
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Expressing joy and excitement, Mary Barsony, lead author of a new paper describing the results said, "Our jaws dropped. After studying this source for decades, we thought we knew it pretty well. But without MIRI we would not have known this was two stars or that these jets existed. That's really astonishing. It's like having brand new eyes."
