Stars

The eROSITA bubbles seen in X-rays (green) and the magnetic field in the halo (white). The red color shows the polarized intensity of synchrotron radiation. The light blue circles represent the Fermi bubbles seen in gamma rays.

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” reports a study of the so-called eROSITA bubbles that reveals magnetized structures that form a galactic halo aligned with them reaching heights of more than 16,000 light-years above the galactic plane. A team of researchers led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics conducted an investigation that spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays to examine the eROSITA bubbles and map them. The alignment of the magnetized halo with the bubbles suggests a common origin, which could be given by star formation activity.

The Arp 107 pair seen in the near and mid-infrared by a combination of several filters of the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI and NIRCam instruments

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An image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope shows Arp 107, a pair of interacting galaxies. The spiral galaxy UGC 5984 (or PGC 32620) and the elliptical galaxy MCG +05-26-025 (or PGC 32628) will eventually merge. The Arp 107 pair was already studied several times with various telescopes but the combination of the MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instruments allowed to capture many new details of the star formation activity triggered by the interaction between the two galaxies.

Digel Cloud 2S

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An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” reports the discovery of areas of remarkable star formation in the molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds, more than 58,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way. A team of researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to obtain the detail needed to recognize protostars, outflows and jets of material, and nebular structures. Star formation is more intense than what was visible in observations conducted with other instruments and is interesting also because the Digel Clouds are poor in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, a characteristic that makes them similar to the primordial Milky Way.

Artist's illustration of a magnetar surrounded by a plasma bubble (Image S. Dagnello, NSF/AUI/NRAO)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the results of a study on some fast radio bursts linked to persistent emissions that associates that long duration with a bubble of plasma that generates that radiation. A team of researchers led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics registered and studied the fast radio burst with the weakest persistent emission detected so far, cataloged as FRB20201124A, and two other similar events with the VLA radio telescope collecting data that provide evidence of the presence of the plasma bubble at the origin of the radio emissions.

The protostar forming within the L1527 molecular cloud observed by the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI instrument

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A new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope reveals new details of a protostar forming within the molecular cloud cataloged as L1527. The MIRI instrument offered new information on the ongoing processes that are leading to the birth of a new star. An accretion disk is barely visible edge-on and is important because the protostar is still absorbing materials from it and planets could form within it in the future. During its formation, the protostar emits jets of gas that collide with the remains of the surrounding cloud, generating the structures MIRI sees in a color that is blue in the top image (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI) thanks to the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compounds that are common in space.