PROJECT-J: JWST observations of the HH46 IRS outflows and protostar
Abstract
PROtostellar JEt's Cradle Tested with JWST (PROJECT-J, P.I. B. Nisini) is a JWST-Cycle 1 project aimed at investigating the environment of the Class I protostar HH46 IRS and its outflow through NIRSpec and MIRI Integral Field Spectroscopy from 1.6 to 28 microns. We present an overview of the project and some initial results. The new observations detect both the jet and counter-jet close to the protostar for the first time, and the spectral-images of the atomic lines trace the densities, temperatures and ionization conditions throught the region. Images of several H2 lines outline a complex molecular flow, where a bright cavity, molecular shells, and a jet-driven red-shifted bow-shock are shaped by the ambient conditions encountered by the outflow as it travels away from the source. The protostar displays a rich spectrum of ice and dust features as well as several molecular absorption lines. These observations demonstrate the power of JWST to investigate the properties of embedded regions around young class I protostars that remain hidden even at near-IR wavelengths.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #243
- Pub Date:
- February 2024
- Bibcode:
- 2024AAS...24317603H