Mapping Where Stars Are Born

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UA-Led Research Maps Where Stars Are Born

A UA-led group of astronomers has completed the largest-ever survey of dense gas clouds in the Milky Way – pockets shrouded in gas and dust where new stars are being born.

A team of astronomers led by Yancy Shirley at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory has completed the largest-ever survey of dense gas clouds in the Milky Way – pockets shrouded in gas and dust where new stars are being born. Cataloging and mapping more than 6,000 gas clouds, the survey allows astronomers to better understand the earliest phases of star formation.

"When you look at the Milky Way on a clear summer night, you'll notice it's not a continuous stream of stars," said Shirley. "Instead, you'll notice all those little dark patches where there seem to be no stars. But those regions are not devoid of stars – they're dark clouds containing dust and gas, the raw material from which stars and planets are forming in our Milky Way today."

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Good.. you never know when you might need a star.