Researchers Perform the First Systematic Survey of "Stellar Nurseries" Across the Universe
Astronomers have made a new breakthrough in interpreting the dark and violent sites where stars are born.
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), scientists completed a census of nearly 100 galaxies in the nearby universe, showcasing their behaviors and appearances. The scientists compared ALMA data to that of the Hubble Space Telescope, shown in composite here. The survey concluded that contrary to popular scientific opinion, stellar nurseries do not all look and act the same. Image Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS, S. Dagnello (NRAO).
In the last five years, an international research group has performed the first systematic survey of “stellar nurseries” across a portion of the universe, mapping over 100,000 of these stellar nurseries across more than 90 galaxies in the vicinity and offering a new understanding of the origins of stars.