Compass and Scale Image of Stellar Jets

Signatures of Star Birth

The glowing, clumpy streams of material shown in these NASA Hubble Space Telescope images are the signposts of star birth. Ejected episodically by young stars like salvos from a cannon, the blobby material zips along at more than 440,000 miles (770,000 kilometers) an hour....

HH 47

HH 34

HH 2

Close-up Views of a Stellar Jet

These images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show how a bright, clumpy jet ejected from a young star has changed over time. The jet, called Herbig-Haro 34 (or HH 34), is a signpost of star birth. Several bright regions in the lumpy gas signify where material is slamming...

HH 34 Jet 1994

HH 34 Jet 1998

HH 34 Jet 2007

Herbig-Haro Objects in the Orion Complex

This image from the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 4-meter telescope shows a roughly one-half-degree-square region of the sky in the constellation Orion (about the same size as the diameter of the full Moon). This is a small part of the the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex,...

New Details Emerge About the Birth of Young Stars – Narrated

New details about how the birth of young stars occurs are discovered by astronomers using a trio of tools. Hubble images taken over a span of 14 years are used to create a movie of the event. Laser experiments recreating the energy coming from a star hitting material shows how...

Time-Lapse of HH 47 Jet (Annotated)

A long jet of material has burst out of a dark cloud of gas and dust that hides a newly formed star. The blue, fan-shaped region on the left is the edge of a cavity illuminated by the fledgling star. A massive clump of jet material collides with upstream gas, creating the white...

Time-Lapse of HH 47 Jet

A long jet of material has burst out of a dark cloud of gas and dust that hides a newly formed star. The blue, fan-shaped region on the left is the edge of a cavity illuminated by the fledgling star. A massive clump of jet material collides with upstream gas, creating the white...

Time-Lapse of HH 47 Bow Shock (Annotated)

The Hubble Space Telescope images the HH 47 bow shock in 1994, 2002, and 2008.

Time-Lapse of HH 47 Bow Shock

The Hubble Space Telescope images the HH 47 bow shock in 1994, 2002, and 2008.

HH 34 Jet (Annotated)

Over the span of 14 years, the Hubble Space Telescope looks at a bright, clumpy jet ejected from a young star. Several bright regions in the clumps signify where material is slamming into each other, heating up, and glowing.

HH 34 Jet

Over the span of 14 years, the Hubble Space Telescope looks at a bright, clumpy jet ejected from a young star. Several bright regions in the clumps signify where material is slamming into each other, heating up, and glowing.

HH 34 Bow Shock (Annotated)

A grouping of merged bow shocks reveals regions that brighten and fade over time as the heated material cools where the shocks intersect.

HH 34 Bow Shock

A grouping of merged bow shocks reveals regions that brighten and fade over time as the heated material cools where the shocks intersect.

Time-Lapse HH 2 Jets (Annotated)

With images taken by Hubble in 1994, 1997, and 2007, this movie shows how the clumpy gas in the jets is moving at different speeds. When fast-moving blobs "rear-end" slower gas, bow shocks arise as the material heats up.

Time-Lapse of HH 2 Jets

With images taken by Hubble in 1994, 1997, and 2007, this movie shows how the clumpy gas in the jets is moving at different speeds. When fast-moving blobs "rear-end" slower gas, bow shocks arise as the material heats up.

Time-Lapse of HH 1 Bow Shocks (Annotated)

In this movie composed of Hubble images, the bow shocks are at the top of the jet as it grazes the edge of a dense gas cloud. New glowing knots of material also appear. These knots may represent gas from the cloud being swept up by the jet.

Time-Lapse of HH 1 Bow Shocks

In this movie composed of Hubble images, the bow shocks are at the top of the jet as it grazes the edge of a dense gas cloud. New glowing knots of material also appear. These knots may represent gas from the cloud being swept up by the jet.