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Hundreds of thousands of stars are contained in this picture, an infrared image of Sagittarius C, a region near the center of the Milky Way. Taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in the Chilean Atacama Desert, this image is helping astronomers unlock a stellar puzzle.<\/p>\n
The center of the Milky Way is the most prolific star-forming region in the entire galaxy. However, astronomers have only found a fraction of the young stars they expected here: there is “fossil” evidence that many more stars were born in the recent past than the ones we actually see.<\/p>\n
This is because looking toward the center of the galaxy is not an easy task: clouds of dust and gas block the light from the stars and obscure the view. Infrared instruments, such as the HAWK-I camera on the VLT, allow astronomers to peer through these clouds and reveal the starry landscape beyond.<\/p>\n
In a recent study appearing in Astronomy & Astrophysics<\/i>, Francisco Nogueras Lara, an astronomer at ESO in Germany, analyzed VLT data of Sagittarius C, a region whose chemical composition made it a promising candidate to host recently formed stars. And it delivered: he found that this region was much richer in young stars than other areas in the galactic center. Looking to similar regions, now, is a promising lead to finding the other missing young stars.<\/p>\n More information:<\/strong> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>: \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tF. Nogueras-Lara, Hunting young stars in the Galactic centre, Astronomy & Astrophysics<\/i> (2024). DOI: 10.1051\/0004-6361\/202348712<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHiding in the crowd: The search for missing young stars (2024, February 13)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 13 February 2024
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n