Home

Return to Index
Return to Index
  Previous Image
Previous Image
  Next Image
Next Image

Herbig-Haro objects were given their name when George Herbig and Guillermo Haro discovered them (independently) about 50 years ago. They are compact nebulae that exhibit a particular spectra near dark clouds. They are now thought to be shock-excited nebulae formed when young stars eject jets of material back into interstellar space, smashing into nearby interstellar gas. Herbig-Haro objects are found near carbon monoxide (CO) outflows, also a product of star formation that occurs as a result of mass loss. They can move through the surrounding interstellar gas at speeds of up to hundreds of kilometers per second. Located in the Orion Nebula, Herbig-Haro 222 consists of many large arcs, also known as streamers. All of the streamers come from the same point southeast of the T Tauri star V571 Orionis, in a region of L1641, a region that is rich in star formation. These streamers are found in the presence of many newly-born, low mass stars. This suggests that a young, low-luminosity star is at the core of the streamers. Note two bow-shock features placed symmetrically with respect to the jet which is emerging from a young star close to the center of the image. This jet and the two bow shocks are also classified as Herbig Haro objects.
(Courtesy of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope).
References:
http://www.astroscu.unam.mx/scu/hh32hst.html
Animation of Contrast

Object

Distance from Earth

Wavelength

Herbig-Haro 222

1,500 light years
Optical

Click to enlarge
Click Image to Enlarge