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    star formation tagged posts

    New Hubble Mosaic of the Orion Nebula

    March 18, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This composite image of the Kleinmann-Low Nebula, part of the Orion Nebula complex, is composed of several pointings of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical and near-infrared light. Infrared light allows to peer through the dust of the nebula and to see the stars therein. The revealed stars are shown with a bright red colour in the image. Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble

    This composite image of the Kleinmann-Low Nebula, part of the Orion Nebula complex, is composed of several pointings of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical and near-infrared light. Infrared light allows to peer through the dust of the nebula and to see the stars therein. The revealed stars are shown with a bright red colour in the image.
    Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble

    In the search for rogue planets and failed stars astronomers using Hubble have created a new mosaic image of the Orion Nebula. During their survey of the famous star formation region, they found what may be the missing piece of a cosmic puzzle; the third, long-lost member of a star system that had broken apart.

    The Orion Nebula is the closest star formation region to Earth, only 1400 light-years away...

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    The Rotation Axes of Stars tell us about how they were Born

    March 18, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Numerical simulation of the fragmentation of a cluster of stars up to the formation of stars (left) with a zoom on the most central part of the cluster (right). The inclination axes of the masses similar to those observed by the Kepler satellite (in cluster NGC 6791) align in this simulation when the kinetic energy of the original cloud is comparable to the ambient turbulent energy. © E.Corsaro & Y.-N Lee

    Numerical simulation of the fragmentation of a cluster of stars up to the formation of stars (left) with a zoom on the most central part of the cluster (right). The inclination axes of the masses similar to those observed by the Kepler satellite (in cluster NGC 6791) align in this simulation when the kinetic energy of the original cloud is comparable to the ambient turbulent energy. © E.Corsaro & Y.-N Lee

    Using asteroseismology, an international team including CEA, CNRS and Université Grenoble-Alpes discovered a surprising alignment of the rotation axes of stars in open clusters, shedding light on the conditions in which stars are formed in our galaxy...

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    A Massive Galaxy long ago and Far away

    February 6, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    1. An extremely massive elliptical galaxy at about three billion years after the big bang, as seen in an optical/near-infrared image. The galaxy is about ten times more massive than the Milky Way. Today the galaxy is not actively producing new stars, but its population of old, red stars appears to be the result of earlier episodes during which the galaxy was one of the most active star-forming examples known. Credit: NASA/Hubble 2. Age and abundance patterns of COSMOS-11494 in comparison to lower-redshift quiescent galaxies.

    1. An extremely massive elliptical galaxy at about three billion years after the big bang, as seen in an optical/near-infrared image. The galaxy is about ten times more massive than the Milky Way. Today the galaxy is not actively producing new stars, but its population of old, red stars appears to be the result of earlier episodes during which the galaxy was one of the most active star-forming examples known. Credit: NASA/Hubble
    2. Age and abundance patterns of COSMOS-11494 in comparison to lower-redshift quiescent galaxies.

    Galaxies today fall roughly into 2 categories: elliptically-shaped collections of reddish, old stars that formed predominantly during a period early in the history of the universe, and spiral shaped objects dominated by blue, young stars...

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    Star Birth with a chance of Winds?

    January 28, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The lesser-known constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), is home to a variety of deep-sky objects -- including this beautiful galaxy, known as NGC 4861. Astronomers are still debating on how to classify it. While its physical properties -- such as mass, size and rotational velocity -- indicate it to be a spiral galaxy, its appearance looks more like a comet with its dense, luminous 'head' and dimmer 'tail' trailing off. Features more fitting with a dwarf irregular galaxy. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

    The lesser-known constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), is home to a variety of deep-sky objects — including this beautiful galaxy, known as NGC 4861. Astronomers are still debating on how to classify it. While its physical properties — such as mass, size and rotational velocity — indicate it to be a spiral galaxy, its appearance looks more like a comet with its dense, luminous ‘head’ and dimmer ‘tail’ trailing off. Features more fitting with a dwarf irregular galaxy. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

    The lesser-known constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), is home to a variety of deep-sky objects – including this beautiful galaxy, known as NGC 4861. Astronomers are still debating on how to classify it...

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