New Observations of the Orion Nebula
Very Heavy Star Formation Detected Behind the Constellation
Apr 26, 2009
Orion has been known to house a large stellar nursery for quite some time; at 1300 light years away it shines prominently in the night sky and with a pair of binoculars star watchers can see the fuzzy patches known as nebulas.
However, not until now was it realized that Orion’s star formation was as hectic as recent observations have shown. With the help of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, the IRAM Millimeter-wave Telescope in Spain and the Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have been able to uncover the stellar nursery’s hectic and very abundant star creation.
Chaotic and Overcrowded Star Forming Region
In their observations of this area, astronomers have found that the young stars are emitting gas in all directions. The nursery, which resides just behind the constellation and is hard to see through the Orion Molecular Cloud (the fuzziness around Orion’s sword), is very disorderly and quite frenzied.
"Regions like this are usually referred to as stellar nurseries, but we have shown that this one is not being well run: it is chaotic and seriously overcrowded,” said Dr. Chris Davis of the Joint Astronomy Center in Hawaii.
Since the region is so hard to see it really only showcases a small glimpse of the turmoil that’s taking place on the nebula.
Understanding How the Sun Was Created
Learning about star formation is important to the understanding of Earth's solar system’s origins. “Many of the stars currently being born in Orion will evolve to be just like the sun. Some may even have Earth-like planets associated with them." Thomas Stanke of the European Southern Observatory in Germany said in a statement.
The telescopes used to discover these new findings in the Orion Nebula are extremely useful for this type of viewing. The ability to observe at wavelengths that the unaided human eye cannot see is crucial in order to discover the degree of star formation seen in Orion.
Dr. Andy Adamson, Associate Director at the UKIRT stated that the dataset acquired in the Orion study demonstrates the power of these survey telescopes. The ability to access data from other telescopes on-line and being able to communicate with collaborators around the world, projects such as the Orion study are the future of astronomy.
“Using UKIRT’s wide field camera (WFCAM), we now know of more than 110 individual jets from this one region of the Milky Way.” Said Dr. Chris Davis of the Joint Astronomy Center in Hawaii. He also added that they have been able to pinpoint the young stars that drive most of the jets that extend for trillions of miles of interstellar space.
With the success of such findings as the Orion’s abundant stellar nurseries, more new observations are sure to follow. Better and bigger discoveries are always interesting and also quite necessary for humanity's endless pursuit of knowledge.
