Webb's picture of the month: ESA releases gorgeous image of the Butterfly Star
Protoplanetary disks are rotating disks of dust and gas surrounding a young star. This disk contains materials that could eventually form planets and other celestial bodies. Programs like the Webb GO 2562 study the dust grains within these disks to understand the earliest stages of planet formation.
Webb’s observation of the disk around IRAS 04302+2247 (IRAS 04302 for short) is part of that program. Researchers combined data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) with Hubble’s optical data to produce a detailed image of this protoplanetary disk.
In the image, a dark vertical dust lane at the center blocks out some light from the young star at the center of the disk. On either side of this dark dust lane are reflection nebulae. The structure of the star and its disk from this view give a butterfly-like appearance. This is why the star is nicknamed “Butterfly Star.”
Webb’s infrared instruments allowed it to see the tiny dust grains that reflect IRAS 04302’s light. These dust grains stretch a great distance from the center of the disk. Hubble’s optical imaging focused on the dark dust lane and the clumps and streaks of gas around it. Hubble’s aspect of this image tells us that the star is still feeding on nearby material and at the same time blasting out jets and outflows.
The Webb GO 2562 Program aims to study four protoplanetary disks that have their sides facing us (edge-on orientation). The Butterfly Star’s disk is just one of them.
