Previous low-resolution images did not clearly show the bubble or reveal how it expanded in the surrounding gas.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Astronomy, researchers used data collected by the Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) telescope to analyze one of the brightest and largest star formations in the galaxy. The Milky Way.

Coldron boiling

The researchers’ analysis showed that there was a bubble of warm gaseous gas around the star cluster “Westerland 2”. This finding refutes previous studies that suggest the possibility of two bubbles forming around “Westerland 2”. The source of the bubble and the energy that drives its expansion.

“When they are formed Stars Too big, more powerful projects explode than they are Protons and electrons And atoms of heavy metals compared to our sun.

She continues: “These eruptions are called stellar winds. Intense stellar winds can form bubbles in the clouds around cold dense gas. We have observed such a bubble focusing on the brightest stars in this region of the galaxy.

The surface of these expanding bubbles contains concentrated gas Carbon Ionized, form a kind of outer shell around the bubbles.

New stars are believed to be forming inside these shells. But, like the soup in the glowing colander, the bubbles surrounding these star clusters connect and intercept the clouds of gas, making it difficult to identify the surfaces of the individual bubbles.

Tiwari and her colleagues created a clear image of the bubble around Westerland 2, measuring the radiation emitted by the cluster across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from high-energy X-rays. Radio waves Low .energy.

Previous studies with only radio wavelengths and sub-millimeter data did not produce low-resolution images and did not show the bubble. The most important measurements are the wavelengths of distant infrared rays emitted by a particular carbon ion in the atmosphere.

“We can use spectroscopy to see how fast this carbon is moving towards us,” said Ramsey Kareem, co-author of the study.

“This technology uses the Doppler effect, which has the same effect as the horn of a train passing by. In our case, the color changes slightly with the speed of the carbon ions.”

New stars

The researchers were able to create a 3D rendering of the evolving star wind bubble around Westerland 2 by determining whether the carbon ions were moving toward Earth or far away, and combining that information with measurements from the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In addition to finding a wind-blown star bubble around Westerland 2, they also found evidence of the formation of new stars in the bubble’s shell region.

According to the study, as the bubble expands, it opens to one side and releases hot plasma, slowing the expansion of the crust about a million years ago. About 200,000 or 300,000 years ago, another bright star formed in Westerland 2, and its energy reactivated the expansion of Westerland 2’s crust.

“We found that the expansion of the bubble around Westerland 2 was accelerated again by winds from another large star, and the process of expansion and star formation began again,” Tiwari said with some explanation.

“This indicates that stars will continue to form in the crust for a long time, but as this process continues, new stars will become much larger and less dense.”

Researchers plan to apply this method to other bright star clusters and warm gas bubbles to better understand areas of formation. Stars in the galaxy.