A Cosmic Lightsaber (IMAGE)

ESA/Hubble Information Centre

A Cosmic Lightsaber

Caption

The two lightsaber-like streams crossing the image are jets of energized gas, ejected from the poles of a young star. If the jets collide with the surrounding gas and dust they can clear vast spaces, and create curved shock waves, seen as knotted clumps called Herbig-Haro objects.

Credit

ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Padgett (GSFC), T. Megeath (University of Toledo), and B. Reipurth (University of Hawaii)

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