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Illustration of giant molecular clouds. | Credit: NSF/AII/NSF/NRAO/P.Vosteen
Astronomers discovered a huge cloud of gas and dust, extending to the stunning 200 light -years and hiding in a poorly studied Milky Way region.
The structure called Midpoint Cloud is an example of a giant molecular cloud (GMC). It was discovered by the team using the Green Bank telescope. As they peeled the middle -dimensional cloud layers, they found dynamic regions, including several potential new star formation sites and dense dust stripes that nourish the heart of our galaxy.
“No one had the idea that this cloud would exist until we looked at this place in the sky and found dense gas,” said Natalie Butterfield, a team leader and scientist at the National Radio Astronomical Observatory. “By measuring the size, mass and density, we confirmed that it was a giant molecular cloud.”
The active GMC region and its thick tapes could reveal how the material flows from the milk road disk to the very heart of our galaxy.
“These dust strips are like hidden gas and dust rivers that carry materials to our galaxy center,” Butterfield continued. “The mid -point cloud is a place where the material from the galaxy drive moves into the extreme environment of the Galaxy Center and gives a unique opportunity to explore the initial gas conditions before accumulating our galaxy center.”
The mid -point gas in the cloud exists in a turbulent state, which reflects the conditions in the center of the bird road. This chaotic motion can be caused by a substance flowing along dust strips or collisions between the midpoint cloud and other molecular clouds.
Previously undiscovered mid -point cloud and shell structure that could have been cleaned by explosive stars | Credit: NSF/AII/NSF NRAO/P.Vosteen.
In the mid -point cloud, there are also several dense clumps of gas and dust that can be collapsed and born with new stars.
One clump marked with a knot e seems to be a small but dense gas cloud that is currently destroyed by the radiation that has been blown by the star’s proximity. Such formations are called free -floating steaming gas balls (FREGGS).
Astronomers have also discovered a new source of intense microwave radiation called “Masement”, which can be additional evidence of the intense star formation in the midpoint cloud.
However, the researchers not only discovered evidence of the birth of stars with this GMC. The shell -like structure seems to have caused the deaths of the bulk supernova mass stars in the midpoint cloud.
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A team conducted by a team shows that a mid -point cloud is vital to the flow of matter from the milk knee disk to his heart.
It would feed the star formation in a thick central stars strip that sounds around our galaxy center. Similar structures of dense stars are found in other prohibited spiral galaxies.
This means that further study of this cloud and its environment could help create a clearer picture of how stars building blocks gather in the center of the galaxies.
“Star formation in the galaxy bars is a little puzzle,” said Larry Morgan, a team member and scientist at the Green Bank Observatory. “The strong forces of these regions can actually suppress the formation of stars.
“However, the main edges of these bars, such as the middle point, can accumulate dense gas and activate a new star formation.”
The team survey was published on Wednesday (July 16) Astrophysical Journal.