Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2025 February 19
   [2]A dark field has a single, colorful, blurry structure in its center.
    Red-colored jets extend out from the center toward the top and bottom
    of the frame. A dark disk covers the center. Blue outflows appear on
     both sides of the horizontal disk. To the lower left, a larger blue
        outflow extends. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                HH 30: A Star System with Planets Now Forming
      Image [3]Credit: [4]James Webb Space Telescope, [5]ESA, [6]NASA &
                       [7]CSA, [8]R. Tazaki [9]et al.

   Explanation: How do stars and planets form? New clues have been found
   in the protoplanetary system [10]Herbig-Haro 30 by the [11]James Webb
   Space Telescope in concert with [12]Hubble and the Earth-bound
   [13]ALMA. The [14]observations show, among other things, that large
   [15]dust grains are more concentrated into a central disk where they
   can form planets. The [16]featured image from Webb shows many
   attributes of the active HH-30 system. [17]Jets of particles are being
   expelled vertically, shown in red, while a dark [18]dust-rich disk is
   seen across the center, blocking the light from the star or stars still
   forming there. Blue-reflecting dust is seen in a [19]parabolic arc
   above and below the central disk, although why a tail appears on the
   lower left is currently unknown. [20]Studying how planets form in
   [21]HH 30 can help astronomers better understand how planets in our own
   [22]Solar System once formed, including [23]our Earth.

                           Tomorrow's picture: M87
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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2502/HH30_Webb_960.jpg
   3. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
   4. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
   5. https://www.esa.int/
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/
   7. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/
   8. https://ryotazaki1205.wixsite.com/astro
   9. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025ApJ...980...49T/abstract
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HH_30
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090525.html
  13. https://public.nrao.edu/telescopes/alma/#what-is-alma
  14. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025ApJ...980...49T/abstract
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  16. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/02/HH_30_MIRI_NIRCam_image
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230919.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230511.html
  19. https://www.geogebra.org/m/yT5YjWDt
  20. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://external-preview.redd.it/dNVVXSoLqNrWLIwCdFQXnh64EN06q51x5PgWyVK0aO0.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=7c1f6961b485f508f309e0dc4415455e02564ca6
  21. https://esawebb.org/images/potm2501b/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/solar-system-facts/
  23. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/collection/1461/astronaut-photography
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250218.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250219
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250220.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/