The Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of 'infant stars,' also known as protostars, as part of the Sofia Massive Star Formation Survey. This initiative aims to understand the formation process of massive stars, defined as those exceeding eight times the mass of the Sun.
Protostars are typically obscured by thick dust. However, Hubble's near-infrared detection capabilities allow it to identify emissions shining through gaps created by bursts of gas and dust. The detected radiating energy provides data on the structure, radiation fields, and dust content of these young stars.
Research Objectives
NASA researchers are examining connections between the characteristics of these young stars—such as outflows, environment, mass, brightness, and evolutionary stage—to evaluate existing theories on massive star formation.
Observed Star-Forming Regions
Hubble captured images of several star-forming regions:
- Cepheus A: Located approximately 2,400 light-years away in the Cepheus constellation, this region contains numerous infant stars, including a prominent protostar responsible for about 50% of the region's luminosity. Light from hidden stars illuminates and energizes gas and dust, forming pink and white nebulae. The pink areas are HII regions, where intense ultraviolet radiation from nearby stars has ionized surrounding gas clouds.
- G033.91+0.11: Situated within the Milky Way galaxy, this region features a reflection nebula in its center. Here, light from an unseen protostar reflects off surrounding gas and dust.
- GAL-305.20+00.21: This image displays an emission nebula, characterized by glowing gas ionized by a protostar embedded within larger gas and dust clouds.