Astronomers have imaged the closest star-forming region to Earth to study how intense radiation from young stars shapes such areas.
The research into the PDR of Orion's Belt will act as a roadmap for further investigation using theTo produce this new highly detailed image, PDRs4All team astronomers probed this region using the second-generation Near-Infrared Camera in combination with the Keck II telescope's adaptive optics system. Both instruments are located at theIn the image, it is possible to identify the different sub-structures that comprise Orion's Bar in unprecedented detail.
"Never before have we been able to observe at a small scale how interstellar matter structures depend on their environments, particularly how planetary systems could form in environments strongly irradiated by massive stars," Habart said."This may allow us to better understand the heritage of the interstellar medium in planetary systems, namely our origins."
The team will be particularly interested in observing in the PDR images where gas changes from a hot ionized state to warm atomic gas, and then again to the cold molecular gas capable of collapsing to form stars. For Keck Observatory astronomer Carlos Alvarez, one of the most exciting elements of this research is seeing Keck play a fundamental role in the JWST era of astronomy.
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