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[Phys-L] Stellar Precursor



From a Yahoo News item....


NASA announced yesterday, Tuesday that images made mostly with
the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory.
seem to show some previously unrealized energetic process, likely related to
magnetic fields, is superheating parts of the cloud.

The detection of X-rays from the cold stellar precursor was surprising.
The observations show that matter is falling toward the core 10 times faster
than gravity would account for.

"We are seeing star formation at its embryonic stage," said Kenji Hamaguchi,
a NASA-funded researcher at the Goddard Space Flight Center. "
The detection of X-rays this early indicates that gravity alone is not
the only force shaping young stars."

The results will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Observations by other telescopes confirmed the interpretation of
the scene, inside a star-forming region called R Corona Australis,
about 500 light-years from Earth.

The object is between 10,000 and 100,000 years into the process
of gathering itself together. The cloud temperature is about 33K.
In a few million years, it will become dense enough to ignite the
nuclear fusion that powers our Sun and other stars.

The whole setup is spinning, and scientists speculate that
magnetic fields accelerate gas to high speeds as it approaches the core.
In other high-energy environments, such as around black holes,
high-speed gas is known to produce X-rays.

"This is no gentle freefall of gas," said Michael Corcoran of
NASA Goddard, a co-author on the report.

"The X-ray emission shows that forces appear to be accelerating
matter to high speeds, heating regions of this cold gas cloud
to 100 million degrees Fahrenheit," Corcoran said.
"The X-ray emission from the core gives us a window to probe
the hidden processes by which cold gas clouds collapse to stars."



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!
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