Posted on 08/17/2021 6:58:22 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A contingent of young stars and star-forming gas clouds is sticking out of one of the Milky Way's spiral arms like a splinter poking out from a plank of wood. Stretching some 3,000 light-years, this is the first major structure identified with an orientation so dramatically different than the arm's.
Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope prior to its retirement in January 2020, they sought out newborn stars, nestled in the gas and dust clouds (called nebulae) where they form. Spitzer detects infrared light that can penetrate those clouds, while visible light (the kind human eyes can see) is blocked.
Young stars and nebulae are thought to align closely with the shape of the arms they reside in. To get a 3D view of the arm segment, the scientists used the latest data release from the ESA (European Space Agency) Gaia mission to measure the precise distances to the stars. The combined data revealed that the long, thin structure associated with the Sagittarius Arm is made of young stars moving at nearly the same velocity and in the same direction through space.
Similar structures – sometimes called spurs or feathers – are commonly found jutting off the arms of other spiral galaxies.
The newly discovered feature contains four nebulae known for their breathtaking beauty: the Eagle Nebula (which contains the Pillars of Creation), the Omega Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, and the Lagoon Nebula. In the 1950s, a team of astronomers made rough distance measurements to some of the stars in these nebulae and were able to infer the existence of the Sagittarius Arm.
In the new study, researchers also relied on a catalog of more than a hundred thousand newborn stars discovered by Spitzer in a survey of the galaxy called the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE).
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Maybe it broke another arm?
Kind of like when we played crack the whip on the local pond.
But...but....but...I....I...I....didn’t search.
Maybe it was having a kit kat.
Cool, but can the find my car keys?
Galaxy warming
Universal Warming
:-)
It fell off the monkey bars.
I thought it was a huge candy bar, what’s with these mixed metaphors? ;^)
Capt. Kirk to Dr. “Bones” McCoy: “Doc, you’re gonna need a bigger pair of tweezers and Adhesive Tape”.
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