This is the first time such crystals have been observed in the dusty clouds of gas that collapse around forming stars. Astronomers are still debating how the crystals got there, but the most likely culprits are jets of gas blasting away from the embryonic star.
"You need temperatures as hot as lava to make these crystals," said Tom Megeath of the University of Toledo in Ohio. He is the principal investigator of the research and the second author of a new study appearing in Astrophysical Journal Letters. "We propose that the crystals were cooked up near the surface of the forming star, then carried up into the surrounding cloud where temperatures are much colder, and ultimately fell down again like glitter."
Spitzer's infrared detectors spotted the crystal rain around a distant, sun-like embryonic star, or protostar, referred to as HOPS-68, in the constellation Orion.
The crystals are in the form of forsterite. They belong to the olivine family of silicate minerals and can be found everywhere from a periodot gemstone to the green sand beaches of Hawaii to remote galaxies. NASA's Stardust and Deep Impact missions both detected the crystals in their close-up studies of comets.
"If you could somehow transport yourself inside this protostar's collapsing gas cloud, it would be very dark," said Charles Poteet, lead author of the new study, also from the University of Toledo. "But the tiny crystals might catch whatever light is present, resulting in a green sparkle against a black, dusty backdrop."
Forsterite crystals were spotted before in the swirling, planet-forming disks that surround young stars. The discovery of the crystals in the outer collapsing cloud of a proto-star is surprising because of the cloud's colder temperatures, about minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 170 degrees Celsius). This led the team of astronomers to speculate the jets may in fact be transporting the cooked-up crystals to the chilly outer cloud.
The findings might also explain why comets, which form in the frigid outskirts of our solar system, contain the same type of crystals. Comets are born in regions where water is frozen, much colder than the searing temperatures needed to form the crystals, approximately 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 degrees Celsius). The leading theory on how comets acquired the crystals is that materials in our young solar system mingled together in a planet-forming disk. In this scenario, materials that formed near the sun, such as the crystals, eventually migrated out to the outer, cooler regions of the solar system.
Poteet and his colleagues say this scenario could still be true but speculate that jets might have lifted crystals into the collapsing cloud of gas surrounding our early sun before raining onto the outer regions of our forming solar system. Eventually, the crystals would have been frozen into comets. The Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency-led mission with important NASA contributions, also participated in the study by characterizing the forming star.
"Infrared telescopes such as Spitzer and now Herschel are providing an exciting picture of how all the ingredients of the cosmic stew that makes planetary systems are blended together," said Bill Danchi, senior astrophysicist and program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The Spitzer observations were made before it used up its liquid coolant in May 2009 and began its warm mission.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer20110526.html
- Fermi Telescope Caps First Year With Glimpse of Space-Time [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Antarctic Airborne Science Mission Nears Mid-Point [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards Education Research Grants to Minority Universities [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- New Celestial Map Gives Directions for GPS [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Invites Reporters to Tranquility Node Ceremony at Kennedy [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Happy Halloween [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA's Fermi Telescope Detects Gamma-Ray From "Star Factories" in Other Galaxies [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Announces Advisory Council Chairs and Committee Structure [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA and X Prize Announce Winners of Lunar Lander Challenge [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- MESSENGER Spacecraft Reveals More Hidden Territory on Mercury [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Successful Flight Through Enceladus Plume [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Education Secretary Hosts DC Students for Talk with Space Station [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Operation Ice Bridge Studies Antarctic Sea Ice [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA West Point Welcomes Home One of Their Heroes [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Spitzer Observes a Chaotic Planetary System [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- X-38 Crew Return Vehicle Finds New Home [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Frost-Covered Phoenix Lander Seen in Winter Images [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Have some faith He is doing his best [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Cross [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Spring Bloom in New Zealand Waters [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Hubble image showcases star birth in M83, the Southern Pinwheel [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Take Me Out to the Ballpark - On Mars! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Poisk Poised for Live NASA TV Space Station Docking [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Ceremony Reset for ESA Handover of Tranquility to NASA [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Reproduces a Building Block of Life in Laboratory [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Now Online: Aeronautics Goes E-Book [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Water on the Moon, Drought on Earth: NASA Experts Available for Radio And Podcast Interviews During Major Science Meeting [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Launch of NASA's Wise Spacecraft Delayed Until Dec. 14 [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Connecticut Students Set for Cosmic Conversation with Space Station Commander [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Magnetic Dance of Titan and Saturn To Be Main Attraction during Flyby [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Hubble's Deepest View of Universe Unveils Never-Before-Seen Galaxies [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Earth's Moon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- How do you Make a Helicopter Safer to Fly? You Crash One. [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Physicist Earns Title as Kennedy's Best [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Hubble Unveils Never-Before-Seen Galaxies [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Saturn's Mysterious Hexagon Emerges from Winter Darkness [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Fermi Sees Brightest-Ever Blazar Flare [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Magnetic Power Revealed in Gamma-Ray Burst Jet [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Just 5 Questions: Aerosols [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Hometown Heroes 2009: Astronaut & Terrible Towel Return to Pittsburgh [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Garver Honors Four for Saving the Life of a Fifth at NASA Langley [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Administrator Bolden Speaks at AAIA-WIA Luncheon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Best (Meteor) Shower of 2009 - No Towel Required [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Making Government More Accessible With Cutting-Edge Use Of New Media [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Scarce Water, Our Quiet Sun and Space Rocks Among NASA News Highlights at American Geophysical Union Meeting [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Press Credentials Deadlines Set for Next Space Shuttle Flight [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Reddish Dust and Ice Migration Darken Saturn's Moon Iapetus [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Galaxy Collision Switches on Black Hole [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- I’m watching the launch of NASA’s WISE spacecraft [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- SOFIA Aloft [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Guide to the International Space Station Laboratory Racks Interactive [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Freezing WISE's Hydrogen [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Local High School Wins Invention Challenge [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Ready to Soar Into Space [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- NASA Data Reveal Major Groundwater Loss in California's Heartland [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Looks for Safer Icing Forecast For Pilots [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- Challenges of Living and Working Aboard the Space Station: NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott Available for TV Interviews [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Astronaut, Food Scientist Available for Interviews about Holiday Feasts in Space [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Launches Web Site for Teenagers That Want More Class [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- A Unique Geography -- and Soot and Dust -- Conspire Against Himalayan Glaciers [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- New Study Turns Up the Heat on Soot's Role in Himalayan Warming [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- NASA's WISE Eye on the Universe Begins All-Sky Survey Mission [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- NASA Offers Sound Clips for Radio, Online Newscasters [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Gets Up-Close Look at Far Corner of the Globe [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Orion Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor Test-fired [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Hubble Finds Smallest Kuiper Belt Object Ever Seen [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- The Dark Side of Carbon [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- R97UYEA6HD8W [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- NASA's AIM Satellite and Models are Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious "Night-Shining" Clouds [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Classroom Learning Takes Off with NASA-Funded Education Projects [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Buys Additional Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motors [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Searching for New Vaccines and Studying Butterflies in Space; NASA Offers TV Interviews about Latest Space Station Science Research [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Partners with Saudi Arabia on Moon and Asteroid Research [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- New Results from a Terra-ific Decade in Orbit [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Deposits in Martian Trough Point to Complex Hydrological Past [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- NASA Outlines Recent Greenhouse Gas Research [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Unexpected Wheel-Test Results [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Solar Storms and Radiation Exposure on Commercial Flights [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Global Digital Elevation Model [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Hubble's Festive View of a Grand Star-Forming Region [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]