Skip to main content
Log in

Observing the launch of a jet during star formation confirms predictions

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

From Nature Astronomy

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Observations have mapped the distribution of gas velocities in a circumstellar disk wind for the first time. The high spatial resolution required for these observations is achieved by measuring the maser emission of water molecules. These findings validate theoretical predictions from the 1980s and can be replicated by modern numerical models.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1: Global VLBI observations of 22 GHz water masers and a 3D view of the proposed kinematic interpretation.

References

  1. Blandford, R. D. & Payne, D. G. Hydromagnetic flows from accretion disks and the production of radio jets. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 199, 883–903 (1982). This article presents the original analytical idea of the magnetohydrodynamic physics of the launching, acceleration, and collimation of disk winds and jets.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Pudritz, R. E. & Norman, C. A. Centrifugally driven winds from contracting molecular disks. Astrophys. J. 274, 677–697 (1983). This article applies the theory to stars forming via disk accretion.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kölligan, A. & Kuiper, R. Jets and outflows of massive protostars. From cloud collapse to jet launching and cloud dispersal. Astron. Astrophys. 620, A182 (2018). This article presents numerical models of forming massive stars and compares them with the analytical theory.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Moscadelli, L. & Sanna, A. Protostellar Outflows at the EarliesT Stages (POETS). III. H2O masers tracing disk-winds and jets near luminous YSOs. Astron. Astrophys. 631, A74 (2019). A VLBI water maser survey of massive forming stars presenting evidence that water masers arise in disk winds.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Lee, C. F. & Ho, P. T. P. A rotating protostellar jet launched from the innermost disk of HH 212. Nat. Astron. 1, 0152 (2017). This article presents one of the clearest examples of jet rotation, which was the best evidence for the existence of a disk wind prior to our findings.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Moscadelli, L. et al. Snapshot of a magnetohydrodynamic disk wind traced by water maser observationsTitle. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01754-4 (2022).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Observing the launch of a jet during star formation confirms predictions. Nat Astron 6, 1011–1012 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01758-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01758-0

  • Springer Nature Limited

Navigation