| Molecular cloud | |
|---|---|
| Herbig-Haro object | |
 McNeil's Nebula (top) HH 24 (middle),HBC 502 (blue star in the middle), HH 25 (below the blue star), HH 26 (red clouds at the bottom) and HH 27 (red cloud at the bottom left) | |
| Observation data:J2000.0[1]epoch | |
| Right ascension | 05h 46m 07.34s[1] |
| Declination | −00° 13′ 31.3″[1] |
| Distance | 1300 ly |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Designations | HH 24, HH 25, HH 26, JCMTSF J054607.3-001333, HH 24/26, HH 24-26, HH 24-27 |
| See also:Lists of nebulae | |
HH 24-26 is amolecular cloud andstar-forming region containing theHerbig-Haro objects HH 24, HH 25 and HH 26. This region contains the highest concentration ofastrophysical jets known anywhere in the sky.[2] The molecular cloud is located about 1400light-years away in the L1630dark cloud, which is part of theOrion B molecular cloud in the constellation ofOrion.[3][4]
The region contains multipleprotostars (two class 0 and one class I) and four more evolvedIRAS sources. The three protostars are driving the Herbig-Haro objects in this region.[3]
The L1630 dark cloud also containsNGC 2071 and theFlame Nebula. HH 24-26 is located just a few arcminutes south ofMessier 78.[5]
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The image of HH 24 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is probably the most well known image of this Herbig-Haro object. HH 24 resembles alightsaber from the science fiction moviesStar Wars and the Hubble image was published during the release ofStar Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.[6]
HH 24 contains a class 0 protostar, which might be a proto-binary system. The disks around these objects are highly misaligned, which is a sign of turbulent fragmentation.[7]
