Location: Constellation Orion
Coordinates: 05 35 31.30 -06 28 43.0
Distance: ~1400 light years
Mainstream description
Herbig-Haro objects are essentially the glowing gas emitted by young stars. This material is typically emitted in long opposing collimated jets that end in bright patches or lobes where the gas collides with the interstellar medium at supersonic speeds. The jets are formed when gas falls into rapidly rotating accretion discs that often surround young stars. The objects are strongly ionized and display a unique electromagnetic spectrum with prominent emission lines of hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Only one of the two jets of HH 34 is visible in optical wavelengths though both are visible in infrared. The clumps in the jets of HH34 are caused by episodic ejections and/or collisions within the jets themselves.
Alternative description
Stellar-scale Birkeland currents intertwine generating powerful electric discharges and magnetic z-pinches. Jets of highly charged plasma are formed at the focal points of these z-pinches and ejected in opposite directions perpendicular to their axes. These magnetic pinches are so strong they fuse the hydrogen in the interstellar medium and form stars. This fusion also forms heavier elements that coalesce into planets, moons and other solar system bodies.