A new-found hole in the Milky Way may reveal how stars are formed
According to a recent study published in September in The Astrophysical Journal, astronomers have detected a huge gap in the Milky Way galaxy, between the constellations Perseus and Taurus. This gap between these star-forming regions is more of a hole. Also called a space cavity, the width of this gap is a whooping 500 light years. This discovery has made the scientist community take a step forward in understanding the formation of the universe and may also reveal how stars are created.
What did the scientists find?
Reports revealed by astronomers suggest that this hole in the Milky Way was observed to be encompassed by molecular clouds, which could have been the result of the eruptive death of the star supernova around 10 million years ago.
Astrophysicists from the Institute of Theory and Computation (ITC), a branch of Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA), have stated that this new discovery could finally give them an idea about how stars are formed and whether or not the explosion of supernova is responsible for it.
Scientists from the European Space Agency have also revealed how their star-mapping spacecraft Gaia presented data that was in turn used to map molecular clouds that surround the hole. This, for the first time, gave the scientists community a clear 3D picture of Milky Way in contrast to the earlier used 2D view. This will help the researchers calculate the earth’s distance from the space cavity with almost 99% accurate results, which will in turn move them towards understanding the formation of stars.
How did they find the void?
The scientists took the help of a software called Glue to view the data clearly, which in turn enabled them to formulate 3D molecular maps. These maps have the capacity to map the region where stars are created.
What will this discovery reveal?
This new point of view will further advance research and allow scientists to study the formation of molecular clouds with dust and gases as a direct result of the supernova’s discharge – leading to the formation of new stars.
The 3D mapping technique will further reveal that the formerly discovered molecular clouds were not actually engulfing the void, but was in contrast disconnected and situated on the either side of the huge invisible hole. However, even though the clouds aren’t interlinked, they were also formed alongside the stars during the supernova explosion that happened 10 million years before.