In one case, Hubble allowed astronomers to follow the motion of the blobs and measure their velocity. The wiggles may result from the gravitational influence of one or more unseen protostellar companions. They occur over a vast range of energies and physical scales, in a variety of phenomena. Material falling onto the star creates a jet when some of it is heated and blasted along a path that follows the star's rotation axis, like an axle through a wheel. Jets may assist star formation by carrying away excess angular momentum that otherwise would prevent material from reaching the star.
Jets also provide astronomers with a unique glimpse of the inner workings of the star and disk.
Burrows, Hester, Morse and their co-investigators independently observed several star birth sites in our galactic neighborhood. We are clearly seeing a process that is a crucial part of star formation, and not just the peculiarities of a few oddball objects. The researchers all agree that the Hubble pictures generally confirm models of star formation but will send theorists back to the drawing board to explain the details. Changes are occurring so rapidly in the jets that Hubble will be able to follow their evolution of these objects over the next decade. Whether a sprinkler whirls, pulses or oscillates, it offers insights into how its tiny mechanism works.