Star formation in the outer spiral regions of the galaxy NGC 4625 is seen in ultraviolet light (blue); these arms are nearly invisible in optical light, but have hot, newborn stars that radiate in the UV. A new study finds that the star formation processes in these outer regions generally resemble the processes at work in more normal, denser regions where molecular gas abounds. The atomic gas is traced in the radio (purple); optical starlight is red. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Carnegie Observatories/WSRT
Star formation environments can be roughly grouped into 3 types, categorized by the density of their gas (or more precisely, the projected “surface” density of the gas, which is easier to determine than volume density)...
Read More
Recent Comments