This cover image of the September 2022 issue of Nature Astronomy shows the superposition of very high resolution observations (orange dots) and simulations (blue lines and background) of the innermost region of the massive protostar IRAS 21078+5211. The observations were produced with the technique known as VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry), and their spiral path traces individual streamlines of the protostellar jet emerging from the accretion disk, from which the massive protostar (center) feeds. The observations, together with the radiation-magnetohydrodynamical simulations, show the launching process of the jet: the high angular velocity of the jet flow is guided outwards by the strong magnetic field around the protostar.
The research team was lead by Dr. Luca Moscadelli (INAF) with the participation of Dr. Alberto Sanna (INAF), Henrik Beuther (MPIA), André Oliva (University of Tübingen and University of Costa Rica) and Rolf Kuiper (University of Duisburg-Essen).
The full research article can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01754-4