"In the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, there is beauty in chaos. There dense clouds of dust and spindly filaments of cold molecular gas, the basic matter from which stars form, encircle the galaxy's central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. And now a new image reveals that beauty in unprecedented detail."
"The image captures an area more than 650 light-years across in what is known as the central molecular zone (CMZ). Inside lurk gas structures that span many dozens of light-years and the smaller clouds that envelope stars. Astronomers are particularly interested in the zone's chemistry because its gas feeds into the matter from which stars grow."
"We believe the region shares many features with galaxies in the early Universe, where stars were forming in chaotic, extreme environments. Studying this region of the Milky Way can offer clues as to how galaxies like our own formed."
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) captured a detailed image of the Milky Way's center, revealing the central molecular zone spanning over 650 light-years. The image displays dense dust clouds and cold molecular gas filaments that encircle the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. These gas structures, spanning dozens of light-years, contain the basic matter from which stars form. Studying this region provides insights into galaxy formation, as the central molecular zone shares characteristics with early Universe galaxies where stars formed in chaotic, extreme environments. The chemistry and structure of this zone help astronomers understand how galaxies like the Milky Way developed.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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