Star’s Birth May Have Triggered Another Star Birth, Say Astronomers

The new measurements gave important support to the idea that the older star’s outflow had triggered the younger’s star’s formation process.

The scientists suggest that the jet from HOPS 370 (also known as FIR 3) began to hit the clump of gas about 100,000 years ago, starting the process of collapse that eventually led to the formation of HOPS 108 (also known as FIR 4). Four other young stars in the region also could be the result of similar interactions, but the researchers found evidence for shocks only in the case of HOPS 108.

While the evidence for this triggering scenario is strong, one fact appears to contradict it. The younger star seems to be moving rapidly in a way that indicates it should have been formed elsewhere, apart from the region impacted by the older star’s outflow.

“This motion, however, might be an illusion possibly created by an outflow from the newer star itself,” explained Osorio. “We want to continue to observe it over a period of time to resolve this question,” she added.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Contacts and sources:
Dave Finley