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Astronomers suspect the stellar baby boom is caused by supernova explosions that send out waves which prompt gas and dust to begin coalescing into clouds. As the mass becomes gravitationally bound, it begins collapsing until a dense, hot core forms and begins pulling in even more dust and gas from surrounding areas. Eventually it becomes so hot in the core's interior that nuclear fusion begins and a star is born. The ultraviolet images, take by the Swift science satellite, will be used to hunt for supernova remnants as well as to make maps of star-forming regions in M33. "The ultraviolet colors of star clusters tell us their ages and compositions," Holland said. "With Swift's high spatial resolution, we can zero in on the clusters themselves and separate out nearby stars and gas clouds. This will enable us to trace the star-forming history of the entire galaxy." The mosaic released Tuesday combines 39 individual frames taken over 11 hours of exposure time between Dec. 23, 2007 and Jan. 4. The image also includes Milky Way foreground stars and much more distant galaxies shining through M33's curtain of light. Related Links : |
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