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Strobe-Like Flashes Discovered in a Suspected Binary Protostar
This video, created from a sequence of images from the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a pulse of light emanating from the protostellar object LRLL 54361. Most if not all of this light results from scattering off circumstellar dust in the protostellar envelope. An apparent edge-on disk, visible at the center of the object and three separate structures are interpreted as outflow cavities.
The extent and shape of the scattered light changes substantially over a 25.34-day period. This is caused by the propagation of the light pulse through the nebula. Astronomers propose that the flashes are due to material in a circumstellar disk suddenly being dumped onto the growing stars and unleashing a blast of radiation each time the stars get close to each other in their orbit.
The false-color, near-infrared-light photos are from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.
- Release DateFebruary 7, 2013
- Science ReleaseStrobe-Like Flashes Discovered in a Suspected Binary Protostar
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Protostar LRLL 54361
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Strobe-Like Flashes Discovered in a Suspected Binary Protostar (Annotated)
This video, created from a sequence of images from the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a pulse of light emanating from the protostellar object LRLL 54361. Most if not all of this light results from scattering off circumstellar dust in the protostellar envelope. An apparent edge-on...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
