Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 2, 2026

W33A

W33A is a protostar located approximately 12,000 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. As a star in the early stages of formation, so has attracted the interest of astronomers, who observed that while the protostar is accumulating material from surrounding clouds of gas and dust, it is simultaneously ejecting fast moving jets of particles from its north and south poles.

Last revised
Jul 2, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
227 w
Citations
4
Source
W33A
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS)
Constellation Sagittarius1
Right ascension 18h 14m 39.5s2
Declination −17° 52′ 02″2
Database references
SIMBADdata

W33A is a protostar located approximately 12,000 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. As a star in the early stages of formation, so has attracted the interest of astronomers, who observed that while the protostar is accumulating material from surrounding clouds of gas and dust, it is simultaneously ejecting fast moving jets of particles from its north and south poles.3

References

References

External links
  • Gibb, E. L.; Whittet, D. C. B.; Schutte, W. A.; Boogert, A. C. A.; Chiar, J. E.; Ehrenfreund, P.; Gerakines, P. A.; Keane, J. V.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; Van Dishoeck, E. F.; Kerkhof, O. (2000). "An Inventory of Interstellar ICES toward the Embedded Protostar W33A". The Astrophysical Journal. 536 (1): 347. Bibcode:2000ApJ...536..347G. doi:10.1086/308940.
  • De Wit, W. J.; Hoare, M. G.; Oudmaijer, R. D.; Mottram, J. C. (2007). "VLTI/MIDI 10 μm Interferometry of the Forming Massive Star W33A". The Astrophysical Journal. 671 (2): L169–L172. arXiv:0711.0437. Bibcode:2007ApJ...671L.169D. doi:10.1086/525253.