Highlighted within the Orion Nebula, at a distance of about 1,300 light-years from Earth, are two young stars that shine brightly, known as protostars. The Orion Nebula is a hub for star formation and is home to numerous newborn stars, making it the closest massive star-forming region to Earth.
Recently captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the image features two protostars named HOPS 150 and HOPS 153, identified through the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey conducted by the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory. HOPS 150 emits a bright golden red glow in the upper right, while HOPS 153 appears on the left side as a colorful jet. Additionally, there are foreground stars that illuminate the image, as mentioned in an ESA statement accompanying the release of the image on Jan. 13.
HOPS 150 is a binary system consisting of two young stars with dusty disks that fuel their growth. The dark line cutting across the protostars represents a cloud of gas and dust falling towards them, indicating their progression towards becoming mature stars.
The image also showcases a stellar jet emanating from HOPS 153, a younger stellar object embedded in its birth nebula. This jet, visible as pink and blue clouds, is a result of the star’s evolution and ongoing feeding from its surrounding accretion disk.
As HOPS 153 evolves, its jet and surrounding environment will continue to transform, potentially impacting the formation of new stars in its vicinity. This ongoing process may even affect the star’s own growth, according to ESA officials.
