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An illustration of the huge molecular cloud. | Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF/NRAO/P.Vosten
Astronomers have discovered a huge cloud of gas and dust, which extends for astonishing 200 light years and lurks in a poorly researched region of the Milky Way.
The structure that the focus cloud refers to is an example of a huge molecular cloud (GMC). It was discovered by the team with the Green Bank telescope. When they peeled the layers of the focus cloud back, they found dynamic regions, including several potential locations in the new star development and dense traces of dust that fed the heart of our galaxy.
“Nobody had an idea that this cloud existed until we looked at this place in the sky and found the density gas,” said Natalie Butterfield Natalie Butterfield, team leader and National Radio Astronomy Observatory. “By measuring the size, mass and density, we have confirmed that this is a huge molecular cloud.”
The active region of the GMC and its thick streets of matter could show how the material flows from the pane of the Milky Way to the heart of our galaxy.
“These dust traces are like hidden gas and dust rivers that carry material into the middle of our galaxy,” continued Butterfield. “The focus cloud is a place where the material moves from the pane of the galaxy into the more extreme environment of the galactic center and offers the unique opportunity to examine the initial gas conditions before accumulating in the center of our galaxy.”
The gas within the focus cloud exists in a turbulent state that reflects the conditions in the gas in the Milk Way’s Center. This chaotic movement could be triggered by material that flows along dust traces itself or through clashes between the center of the center and other molecular clouds.
The previously undiscovered maser in the focus cloud and a Shell structure, which may have been deleted by exploding stars, loan: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P.Vosten.
There are also several lumps of poet gas and dust within the focus cloud, which could be about to collect new stars shortly before the collapse and birth.
A lump, designated node E, seems to be a small but dense gas cloud, which is precisely undermined by the radiation, which is blasted by stars near it. Formations such as this are referred to as freely flowing evaporation gas birds (FREGGS).
The astronomers also discovered a new source of intensive microwave radiation, which is referred to as “Maser” and could be further proof of intensive star formation within the focus cloud.
However, the researchers not only discovered evidence of a star birth with this GMC. A shell-like structure in the focus cloud seems to have been caused by the explosive supernova deaths of massive stars.
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The examinations carried out by the team suggests that the focus cloud is of crucial importance from the disc of the milky method to their heart for the flow of material.
This would feed the star formation in the thick central star rod that revolves around the middle of our galaxy. Similar structures of poet stars can be found in other blocked spiral galaxies.
This means that further examinations of this cloud and its surroundings could help develop a clearer picture of how the building blocks of the stars gather in the center of the galaxies.
“The star development in galactic bars is a small puzzle,” said Larry Morgan Larry Morgan, team member and Green Bank Observatory scientist. “The strong forces in these regions can actually suppress star formation.
“The leading edges of these bars, such as where the center is located, can accumulate dense gas and trigger new star formation.”
The team’s research was published on Wednesday (July 16) in the Astrophysical Journal.
