A Glimpse of a binary star system in early stages: Check out this radio image by ALMA telescope

The European Southern Observatory's latest image features a binary star system in its early stages. Captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, of which ESO is a partner, the two protostars or young stars in this system are marked with star symbols and are surrounded by a dusty disc.

According to ESO, the colour of the image indicates the temperature of the protostars and the area around them, with brighter yellow colours representing higher temperatures. Additionally, there are three clumps of hot dust far away from the protostars, marked with crosses, and the source of their heat is unknown.

Maria Jose Maureira of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestial Physics in Germany recently conducted a study that suggests protostars may not be the only source of heat in certain regions. Shockwaves, similar to those created when an aeroplane surpasses the speed of sound, could also be contributing to the heating of these areas. Furthermore, these shock waves could be responsible for introducing complex organic molecules to the gas in the disc, which could then be passed on to nascent planets. Additionally, the high temperatures of these shockwaves could alter the way dust particles stick together, potentially affecting the timing of planetary core formation.

This Picture of the Week shows @almaobs observations of a disc around a binary star. There are three spots far from the stars where the disc is unusually hot, but why?Find out: 🔗 https://t.co/ptBlgql40fCredit: ALMA ( @ESO @prcnaoj_en @TheNRAO ) / Maureira et al. pic.twitter.com/OaCEZSzMtT

— ESO (@ESO) December 27, 2022

ALMA is the largest and most complex ground-based astronomical observatory in existence, consisting of 66 high-precision antennas located at an altitude of 5,000 meters in Chile's Atacama Desert. The powerful telescope is designed to observe the Universe in the millimeter and submillimeter wavelength range, a region of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared light and radio waves.