Nasa's Webb telescope discovery: Long-studied star turns out to be pair of twins

Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope delivered a significant discovery when directed towards a cluster of young stars known as WL 20. Despite decades of study with multiple telescopes since the 1970s, Webb's advanced resolution and specialized instruments unveiled that WL 20S, previously considered a single star, is actually a binary system formed between 2 to 4 million years ago. (Photo: Nasa)

The findings, unveiled at the 244th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on June 12, were facilitated by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). MIRI further revealed that the twin stars exhibit synchronized gas jets emanating from their northern and southern poles. (Photo: Nasa)

The composite image of the WL 20 star cluster combines ALMA and Webb telescope data, showing gas jets (blue and green) from twin stars' poles and pink dust disks. (Photo: Nasa)

Further observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a collection of over 60 radio antennas in Chile, provided the team with another surprise: both stars are surrounded by disks of dust and gas. Given the stars’ age, there is potential for planet formation within these disks. (Photo: Nasa)

Astronomer Mary Barsony, lead author of a new paper said, “Our jaws dropped, after studying this source for decades, we thought we knew it pretty well. But without MIRI we would not have known this was two stars or that these jets existed. That’s really astonishing. It’s like having brand new eyes.” (Photo: Nasa)

​The collective findings suggest that the twin stars are approaching the conclusion of their early life stages, offering scientists a valuable opportunity to study the transition from youth to adulthood in stars. (Photo: Nasa)