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Observing the launch of a jet during star formation confirms predictions

Observations have mapped the distribution of gas velocities in a circumstellar disk wind for the first time. The high spatial resolution required for these observations is achieved by measuring the maser emission of water molecules. These findings validate theoretical predictions from the 1980s and can be replicated by modern numerical models.

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Fig. 1: Global VLBI observations of 22 GHz water masers and a 3D view of the proposed kinematic interpretation.

References

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This is a summary of: Moscadelli, L. et al. Snapshot of a magnetohydrodynamic disk wind traced by water maser observationsTitle. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01754-4 (2022).

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Observing the launch of a jet during star formation confirms predictions. Nat Astron 6, 1011–1012 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01758-0

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