As this ionised region expands into space, the associated shock wave sweeps up a layer of the surrounding cold interstellar gas and cosmic dust. This layer becomes unstable and collapses under its own gravity into dense clumps, forming cold, dense clouds of hydrogen where new stars are born.
However, as the clouds are still very cold, with temperatures of around -250° Celsius, their faint heat glow can only be seen at submillimetre wavelengths. Submillimetre light is therefore vital in studying the earliest stages of the birth and life of stars.
The submillimetre-wavelength data were taken with the LABOCA camera on the 12-m Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope, located on the 5000 m high plateau of Chajnantor in the Chilean Atacama desert. Thanks to LABOCA's high sensitivity, astronomers were able to detect clumps of cold gas four times fainter than previously possible. Since the brightness of the clumps is a measure of their mass, this also means that astronomers can now study the formation of less massive stars than they could before.
The plateau of Chajnantor is also where ESO, together with international partners, is building a next generation submillimetre telescope, ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. ALMA will use over sixty 12-m antennas, linked together over distances of more than 16 km, to form a single, giant telescope.
APEX is a collaboration between the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) and ESO. The telescope is based on a prototype antenna constructed for the ALMA project. Operation of APEX at Chajnantor is entrusted to ESO.
Henri Boffin | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2008/pr-40-08.html
Further Reports about: APEX > Atacama > constellation of Scorpius > cosmic dust > ESO > glowing stellar nurseries > H-alpha emission > hydrogen atoms > RCW120 > submillimetre wavelengths > ultraviolet radiation
More articles from Physics and Astronomy:
Astronomer's new guide to the galaxy: largest map of cold dust revealed
03.07.2009 | ESO European Southern Observatory
First pictures of the moon
03.07.2009 | Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
The least sea ice in 800 years
03.07.2009 | Earth Sciences
Astronomer's new guide to the galaxy: largest map of cold dust revealed
03.07.2009 | Physics and Astronomy
Interferon alpha can delay full onset of type I diabetes
03.07.2009 | Health and Medicine
29.06.2009 | Event News
6th BMBF Forum for Sustainability "Research for Sustainability - One Step Further"
19.06.2009 | Event News
2nd ISPIM Innovation Symposium - Stimulating Recovery The Role of Innovation Management
02.06.2009 | Event News