Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Thu Jun 27 2024 01:41:52

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2024 June 27

                      Protostellar Outflows in Serpens
   Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel
                                Green (STScI)

   Explanation: Jets of material blasting from newborn stars, are captured
   in this James Webb Space Telescope close-up of the Serpens Nebula. The
   powerful protostellar outflows are bipolar, twin jets spewing in
   opposite directions. Their directions are perpendicular to accretion
   disks formed around the spinning, collapsing stellar infants. In the
   NIRcam image, the reddish color represents emission from molecular
   hydrogen and carbon monoxide produced as the jets collide with the
   surrounding gas and dust. The sharp image shows for the first time that
   individual outflows detected in the Serpens Nebula are generally
   aligned along the same direction. That result was expected, but has
   only now come into clear view with Webb's detailed exploration of the
   active young star-forming region. Brighter foreground stars exhibit
   Webb's characteristic diffraction spikes. At the Serpens Nebula's
   estimated distance of 1,300 light-years, this cosmic close-up frame is
   about 1 light-year across.

                      Tomorrow's picture: Olber's comet
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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