Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 May 28
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                               Herbig-Haro 24
   Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]Hubble Heritage ([6]STScI / [7]AURA)
                        / Hubble-Europe Collaboration
       Acknowledgment: D. Padgett ([8]GSFC), T. Megeath (University of
                 Toledo), B. Reipurth (University of Hawaii)

   Explanation: [9]This might look like a double-bladed lightsaber, but
   these two cosmic jets actually beam outward from [10]a newborn star in
   a galaxy near you. Constructed from Hubble Space Telescope image data,
   the stunning scene spans about half a light-year across Herbig-Haro 24
   (HH 24), some 1,300 light-years or 400 [11]parsecs away in the
   [12]stellar nurseries of the Orion B molecular cloud complex. Hidden
   from direct view, HH 24's central protostar is surrounded by cold dust
   and gas flattened into a rotating accretion disk. As material from the
   disk falls toward the [13]young stellar object, it heats up. Opposing
   [14]jets are blasted out along the system's rotation axis. Cutting
   through the region's interstellar matter, the narrow, energetic jets
   produce a series of glowing shock fronts along their path.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply.
              [31]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [32]ASD at [33]NASA / [34]GSFC,
                         [35]NASA Science Activation
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2505/hs-2015-42-a-fullHH24.jpg
   3. http://www.nasa.gov/
   4. http://www.spacetelescope.org/
   5. http://heritage.stsci.edu/
   6. http://www.stsci.edu/
   7. http://www.aura-astronomy.org/
   8. http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240504.html
  10. https://www.stsci.edu/contents/media/images/2015/42/3656-Image
  11. http://www.wired.com/2013/02/kessel-run-12-parsecs/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131010.html
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-highlights/exploring-the-birth-of-stars/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140204.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250527.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250528
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250529.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  35. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/