{"id":24144,"date":"2021-07-16T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=24144"},"modified":"2021-07-15T17:16:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T21:16:15","slug":"eso-galactic-star-formation-shown-vividly-in-visible-and-radio-combo-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=24144","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Galactic star formation seen vividly in VLT\/ALMA images"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Galactic fireworks:
\nnew ESO images reveal stunning features of nearby galaxies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This image combines observations of the nearby galaxies NGC 1300, NGC 1087, NGC 3627 (top, from left to right), NGC 4254 and NGC 4303 (bottom, from left to right) taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Each individual image is a combination of observations conducted at different wavelengths of light to map stellar populations and warm gas. The golden glows mainly correspond to clouds of ionised hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas, marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions in the background reveal the distribution of slightly older stars.\u00a0\u00a0 The images were taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is making high-resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A team of astronomers has released new observations of nearby galaxies that resemble colourful cosmic fireworks. The images, obtained with the European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope (ESO\u2019s VLT), show different components of the galaxies in distinct colours, allowing astronomers to pinpoint the locations of young stars and the gas they warm up around them. By combining these new observations with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, the team is helping shed new light on what triggers gas to form stars.<\/p>\n

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This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 1300 was obtained by combining observations taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and with the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. NGC 1300 is a spiral galaxy, with a bar of stars and gas at its centre, located approximately 61 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus. The image is a combination of observations conducted at different wavelengths of light to map stellar populations and gas. ALMA\u2019s observations are represented in brownish-orange tones and highlight the clouds of cold molecular gas that provide the raw material from which stars form. The MUSE data show up mainly in gold and blue. The bright golden glows map warm clouds of mainly ionised hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas, marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions reveal the distribution of slightly older stars.\u00a0 The image was taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is making high resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astronomers know that stars are born in clouds of gas, but what sets off star formation, and how galaxies as a whole play into it, remains a mystery. To understand this process, a team of researchers has observed various nearby galaxies with powerful telescopes on the ground and in space, scanning the different galactic regions involved in stellar births.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time we are resolving individual units of star formation over a wide range of locations and environments in a sample that well represents the different types of galaxies,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

says Eric Emsellem, an astronomer at ESO in Germany and lead of the VLT-based observations conducted as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can directly observe the gas that gives birth to stars, we see the young stars themselves, and we witness their evolution through various phases.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Emsellem, who is also affiliated with the University of Lyon, France, and his team have now released their latest set of galactic scans, taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO\u2019s VLT in the Atacama Desert in Chile. They used MUSE to trace newborn stars and the warm gas around them, which is illuminated and heated up by the stars and acts as a smoking gun of ongoing star formation.<\/p>\n