File:ALMA peers into the hearts of stellar nurseries.jpg

File
File history
File usage
Metadata

Original file ‎(5,868 × 6,480 pixels, file size: 11.23 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

This file is from a shared repository and may be used by other projects. Please see the file description page for further information.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

	Date/Time	Thumbnail	Dimensions	User	Comment
current	19:19, 2 October 2018		5,868 × 6,480 (11.23 MB)	commons>Sergkarman	size

File usage

There are no pages that use this file.

Metadata

This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it.

If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file.

Source	European Southern Observatory
Credit/Provider	ESO, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/A. Schruba, VLA (NRAO)/Y. Bagetakos/Little THINGS
Short title	ALMA peers into the hearts of stellar nurseries
Image title	With their spectacular glowing arms, grand spiral galaxies seem to get all the attention — but NGC 6822, a barred irregular dwarf galaxy, proves that regular spirals do not have a monopoly on galactic beauty. Also called Barnard’s galaxy, NGC 6822 is located in the constellation of Sagittarius just 1.6 million light-years away and is brimming with rich star formation regions. This new image is a composite of older observations made with the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory and new data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The areas observed with ALMA are highlighted in the image and can be seen here in detail. The observations by ALMA reveal the structure of star-forming gas clouds in unprecedented resolution. Observations in our own galaxy have shown that stars form in the dense cores of giant clouds of molecular hydrogen gas, the only places where gas can become cold enough to collapse under its own gravity. These conditions also foster the formation of other molecules, such as carbon monoxide, which are an indispensable tool in helping astronomers to detect galactic molecular hydrogen gas. Until recently, astronomers have only been able to resolve star formation regions within the Milky Way — but now ALMA’s sharp sight provides a window into star formation in other galaxies. The analysis of the data revealed that, unlike in our own galaxy, the observed molecules are concentrated into small, dense cores of gas. This explains why it has been so hard to observe extragalactic star formation regions so far, especially in low mass, low metallicity galaxies. ALMA also found that the cores in NGC 6822 behave remarkably similarly to stellar nurseries in the Milky Way, indicating that the physics of star formation in these low-mass galaxies resemble that which we see in our own galaxy. Links: Star forming gas clouds in NGC 6822 ALMA observes clouds in NGC 6822 Barnard’s galaxy seen with the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope Research paper by Schruba et al. MPE press release NOVA press release
Usage terms	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Date and time of data generation	06:00, 13 March 2017
JPEG file comment	Astronomers obtained this portrait of Barnard’s Galaxy using the Wide Field Imager attached to the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. Also known as NGC 6822, this dwarf irregular galaxy is one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbours. The dwarf galaxy has no shortage of stellar splendour and pyrotechnics. Reddish nebulae in this image reveal regions of active star formation, wherein young, hot stars heat up nearby gas clouds. Also prominent in the upper left of this new image is a striking bubble-shaped nebula. At the nebula’s centre, a clutch of massive, scorching stars send waves of matter smashing into surrounding interstellar material, generating a glowing structure that appears ring-like from our perspective. Other similar ripples of heated matter thrown out by feisty young stars are dotted across Barnard’s Galaxy. The image was made from data obtained through four different filters (B, V, R, and H-alpha). The field of view is 35 x 34 arcmin.
Software used	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
File change date and time	13:11, 4 March 2017
Date and time of digitizing	19:15, 9 October 2009
Date metadata was last modified	14:11, 4 March 2017
Unique ID of original document	uuid:96D6AED3E4B4DE11936EBD180BED20E2
Copyright status	Copyright status not set
Keywords	NGC 6822
Contact information	http://www.eso.org Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2 Garching bei München, , D-85748 Germany
IIM version	4

File:ALMA peers into the hearts of stellar nurseries.jpg

File history

File usage

Metadata

Navigation menu

Search