PIA13149: Blobs House Twin Stars
This image is one of six images taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, showing that tight-knit twin, or binary stars might be triggered to form by asymmetrical envelopes.
 Mission:  Spitzer Space Telescope 
 Instrument:  IRAC 
 Product Size:  2804 x 1870 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  IPAC-Caltech 
 Other  
Information: 		 JPL News Release 2010-170 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA13149.tif (15.73 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA13149.jpg (558.6 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Click here for larger version of figure 1 for PIA13149
Annotated Poster

click here for larger view of figure 1 for PIA13149click here for larger view of figure 2 for PIA13149click here for larger view of figure 3 for PIA13149
IRAS 03282+3035CB230IRAS 16253-2429

click here for larger view of figure 4 for PIA13149click here for larger view of figure 5 for PIA13149click here for larger view of figure 6 for PIA13149
L1152L483HH270 VLA1
Click on an individual image for larger view

New evidence from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is showing that tight-knit twin stars might be triggered to form by asymmetrical envelopes like the ones shown in this image. All stars, even single ones like our sun, are known to form from collapsing clumps of gas and dust, called envelopes, which are seen here around six forming star systems as dark blobs, or shadows, against a dusty background. The greenish color shows jets coming away from the envelopes. The envelopes are all roughly 100 times the size of our solar system.

Two of the six envelopes are known to have already formed twin, or binary stars (Spitzer can see the envelopes but not the stars themselves). Astronomers believe that the irregular shapes of these envelopes, revealed in detail by Spitzer, might trigger binary stars to form, or might have already triggered them to form.

From top left, moving clockwise, the stars are: IRAS 03282+3035, CB230, IRAS 16253-2429, L1152, L483, HH270 VLA1. IRAS 03282+3035 and CB230 are the two known to have already formed binary stars.

Infrared light with a wavelength of 3.6 microns has been color-coded blue; 4.5-micron light is green; and 8.0-micron light is red.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Michigan

Image Addition Date:
2010-05-20