HiCIAO (High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next-Generation Adaptive Optics) camera tagged posts

Circumstellar structures revealed by Subaru-HiCIAO. The gas and dust surrounding baby stars (their food) are significantly more extended than our solar system. Here we show the first observations of such complex structures around active young stars. Credit: Image courtesy of National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Astronomers have used a new infrared imaging technique to reveal dramatic moments in star and planet formation. These seem to occur when surrounding material falls toward very active baby stars, which then feed voraciously on it even as they remain hidden inside their birth clouds. The team used the HiCIAO (High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next-Generation Adaptive Optics) camera on the Subaru 8-meter Telescope in Hawaii to observe a set of newborn stars...