Published:

19 ago 2021 01:53 GMT

A disruptive group of young stars and gaseous regions has been described by scientists as “splitting out of a tree board”.

Astronomers divide galaxies into three main types: elliptical, spiral, and irregular, with two-thirds of those they observe, and in that second form, our own house, the Milky Way.

Although scientists have a rough idea of ​​the size and shape of the Milky Way spiral arms, they say they have seen the entire structure of our galaxy That is a challengeBecause the earth is within it. “It’s like standing in the middle of Times Square and trying to draw a map of Manhattan Island.” They explain From NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, USA.

Therefore, discovering some new features of the Milky Way is considered an achievement. This is a case that was discovered by JBL astronomers and is described in the journal Astronomy & Astronomical Physics, Which sheds new light on the finest structure in our home galaxy.

Scientists at NASA’s laboratory have discovered a strange “gap” in the Milky Way’s spiral arms that can tell more about its galaxy history. This disturbance, consisting of young stars and gaseous regions, is described by JPL “A crack coming out of a wooden board“.

The researchers used infrared eyes or heat detectors from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaya Mission to measure distances and stellar motions.

The new study focused on an area near one arm of the Milky Way called the Sagittarius arm, home to the famous pillars that make up the Eagle Nebula. The combined data of Spitzer and Gaia, packed with young stars moving in Sagittarius space, showed almost the same speed and direction.

Michael Kunn, the lead author of the new paper, explained that previous models of the Milky Way had previously suggested that Sagittarius had an angle of approximately 12 inclination, measured by a “tilt angle” compared to a perfect circle at 0 degrees. Degrees. New observations show it The angle of inclination of Sagittarius is approximately 60 degrees. However, it is not yet clear why.

Astronomers are still trying to figure out how and why the hands of galaxies formed, and JBL now says new research could provide some clues. “This system is a small part of the Milky Way, but it can tell us something remarkable about the overall galaxy,” said Robert Benjamin, co-author of the study.