Revealing the invisible and unlocking cosmic mysteries: that is the power of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The latter has once again dazzled the scientific community with a revolutionary discovery concerning the WL 20 star system.
WL 20 is actually udo double star
Nestled in the heart of the vast Rho Ophiuchi stellar cloud, some 400 light years from Earth, lies WL 20. This star system has intrigued astronomers since the 1970s, although its visibility is hampered by thick clouds of gas and dust. These clouds obscure most of the visible light, making direct observation difficult for traditional telescopes. Recently, however, it was revealed that this thick curtain of smoke had been misleading researchers all this time.
Thanks to the unprecedented resolution of the James Webb Telescope, WL 20’s deepest secrets have finally been revealed. What was thought to be a single star, known as WL 20S, actually turned out to be a pair of twin stars formed about two to four million years ago.
Break through the smoke curtains
The MIRI instrument played a crucial role in this discovery. It is one of four advanced scientific instruments on board the telescope. Designed to detect infrared radiation emitted by celestial objects, it is particularly effective at probing environments where visible light is blocked, allowing astronomers to observe objects invisible to traditional optical telescopes. MIRI operates in a spectral range ranging from five to twenty-eight micronswhich corresponds to wavelengths longer than those visible to the human eye.
Thanks to its ability to observe in the mid-infrared, MIRI has revealed not only the dual nature of stars, but also the existence of jets of gas escaping from their north and south poles. This observation stunned the researchers, as Mary Barsony, the study’s lead astronomer, expressed: “ After decades of study, we thought we knew this source well. But without MIRI, we would not have known they were two stars or observed these jets. It’s like having new eyes in the Universe. »
The surprises didn’t stop there. Additional observations by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) revealed that the two stars were surrounded by disks of dust and gaspotential nurseries for future planet formation.
As Webb continues to peer into the heavens with unprecedented clarity, new revelations about the origins and fates of stars and planets are expected, providing an illuminating perspective on our place in the Universe.
