Space

'Smoke Ring' Halo Spotted By Hubble Space Telescope

Rosanna Singh
First Posted: Nov 04, 2015 10:45 AM EST

Researchers recently spotted a space image that appeared much like a smoke ring as a halo of dust around two stars. The researchers noticed the stars shining through the center of a ring of cascading dust, using NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The star system is called DI Cha, which only depicts two stars, however, NASA believes it is a four quadrant system, consisting of two sets of binary stars, according to NASA researchers. This young star system is engulfed by mostly dust and the stars are shaping the dust into a wispy wrap, according to a NASA report

The intersection between the stars and dust is held by the dark cloud Chamaeleon I, which is one of the three clouds that consists of the large star-forming region called the Chamaeleon Complex.

Some of the youngest stars are formed in this region of space. The youthfulness of the DI Cha star system is quite common in the region, but yet new to researchers. This new discovery is useful for researchers to conduct future studies on how stars are formed.  

Related Articles 

Star Bigger Than The Sun Is Being Formed: Researchers Examine How Stars Are Created

Proplanetary Disk Gaps Don't Always Signal Planets

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

More on SCIENCEwr