W75N (B) -VLA2

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W75N (B) -VLA2 , also known as VLA2 or Very Large Array 2 , is a protostar in the star cluster W75N (B) , which is 4200 light years from Earth. The formation of heavier stars than the sun can be observed at this relatively close object .

It is named after the Very Large Array radio telescope with which it was observed. On the protostar, the formation of massive stars can be observed, about which less is known than the formation of stars similar to the sun. They develop considerably faster (here the star has eight times the mass of the sun, is 300 times brighter than the sun and is formed within 100,000 years); However, it is unclear whether the development is similar to that of light stars (typically a dust accretion disk around the star in which the planets are formed, with two gas jets perpendicular to it), or whether several protostars collide to create heavy stars. The VLA took pictures at an interval of around 20 years (1996, 2014) (led by the Mexican astronomer Carlos Carrasco-González, participation, inter alia, Huib van Langevelde from Leiden) and the observations supported the hypothesis that they form similar to light stars. An originally isotropic gas cloud became more elliptical. This is confirmed by observations of the natural astronomical masers (water and methanol) in this system, which testify to high magnetic fields consistent with a jet mechanism. There are also two other radio sources in the star cluster ( VLA 1 is older, VLA 3 is younger than VLA 2).

Web links

  • Anna Behrend: birth of a giant baby. A star birth like this takes time: Researchers photographed a giant star that is emerging - every 18 years. But it is far from fully grown. In: Zeit Online. Zeit Online GmbH, April 2, 2015, accessed on April 5, 2015 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ C. Carrasco-González et al. a .: Observing the onset of outflow collimation in a massive protostar, Science 348, 2015, pp. 114–117, abstract
  2. ↑ Gabriele Surcis, Wouter Vlemmings: The role of the magnetic field in the massive star-forming region W75N. (pdf) In: Proceeding of Science. June 10, 2010, p. 4 , accessed April 5, 2015 (English).