LOS ANGELES: Astronomers have
discovered a large number of previously unknown regions in the Milky Way where
massive stars are being formed.
The star-forming H II regions are
sites where hydrogen atoms are stripped of their electrons by intense radiation
from young stars.
With the helo of infrared and radio telescopes
Spitzer Space, the researchers traced these regions which remain hidden due to
gas and dust clouds around the Milky Way, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
said on Wednesday.
"We found our targets by using the results of
infrared surveys done with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and of surveys done
with the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope," said
astronomer Loren Anderson who worked on the project.
"Objects that appear
bright in both the Spitzer and Very Large Array images we studied are good
candidates for H II regions."
Through further analysis, the
astronomers also determined the locations of the H II regions, discovering
concentrations of the regions at the end of the galaxy's central bar and in its
spiral arms, according to Xinhua.
Their analysis also showed that 25
of the regions are farther from the galaxy's center than the sun, according to
JPL.
