The universe isn’t a safe place, and a variety of different violent processes are regularly documented by astronomers. In general, documenting the sky is a task made complex by the vastness of the universe and the limits of our telescopes. Occasionally, however, we get home help from light. 

It turns out that different events have very distinctive colors, and a new data set combines optical data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) with millimeter data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to highlight star formation. Astronomer Eric Emsellem, the optical observing lead, states: For the first time, we are resolving individual units of star formation over a wide range of locations and environments in a sample that well represents the different types of galaxies. We can directly observe the gas that gives birth to stars, we see the young stars themselves, and we witness their evolution through various phases.

The use of two very different telescope sets allowed researchers to map both the cold gas that will form stars using ALMA and the hot gas and the stars forming within it using the VLT. According to collaborator Kathryn Kreckle: There are many mysteries we want to unravel. Are stars more often born in specific regions of their host galaxies — and, if so, why? And after stars are born, how does their evolution influence the formation of new generations of stars?

The data released this week is stunningly beautiful, and the science that is possible is even more stunning. Now we just have to wait while folks do their analysis. But hey, we have nice things to look at while we wait.

More Information

ESO press release

ICRAR press release

MPIA press release