A cosmic lightsabre
Date: 16 December 2015
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: HH 24
Copyright: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Padgett (GSFC), T. Megeath (University of Toledo), and B. Reipurth (University of Hawaii)
The two lightsabre-like streams crossing the image are jets of energised gas, ejected from the poles of a young star. If the jets collide with the surrounding gas and dust they can clear vast spaces, and create curved shock waves, seen as knotted clumps called Herbig-Haro objects.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
