Explosive Outflows from Forming Massive Stars

¹ University of Colorado, Boulder, 80389, USA
² ESO Headquarters, Garching bei Munchen, Germany
³ Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

e-mail: john.bally@colorado.edu

Abstract

AO imaging of the near IR [Fe ii] and H₂ lines and ALMA CO J = 2 − 1 data confirms the explosive nature of the BN/KL outflow in Orion. N-body interactions in compact groups may be responsible for the production of powerful, explosive protostellar outflows and luminous infrared flares. The Orion event may have been triggered by a protostellar merger. First results of a search for Orion-like events in 200 nearby galaxies with the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) are briefly discussed.