Nature 363, 54 - 56 (06 May 1993); doi:10.1038/363054a0

Explosive ejection of matter associated with star formation in the Orion nebula

David A. Allen & Michael G. Burton

Anglo-Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, New South Wales 2121, Australia

TIGHTLY collimated outflows of gas are often associated with regions of star formation; they interact with the ambient interstellar medium to produce the knots of shock-excited emission known as Herbig–Haro (HH) objects^1,2. Two interpretations have been suggested for these objects: they may represent either the shocking of dense clumps of material that have been ejected into the surrounding molecular cloud³, or the interaction of stationary knots with fast, low-density jets^4,5. Here we report the discovery of a complex of HH objects and associated wakes that require compact knots of material to have been ejected over a wide opening angle in a seemingly explosive event. Our observations suggest that, at least in this case, the former interpretation is correct, and they highlight the need to search other star-forming regions in order to establish the frequency of such events.

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