WEBB: Sagittarius C: Webb provides closest look yet at one of Milky Way's most extreme environments
phys.org | | 2025 April 2
phys.org | | 2025 April 2
BSN4Y Jac
Sagittarius C is one of the most extreme environments in the Milky Way galaxy. This cloudy region of space sits about 200 light-years from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Here, a massive and dense cloud of interstellar gas and dust has collapsed on itself over millions of years to form thousands of new stars.
In a new study, a team of scientists used observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study Sagittarius C in unprecedented detail.
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The researchers discovered that powerful magnetic field lines seem to be threading through Sagittarius C, forming long and bright filaments of hot hydrogen gas that look a little like spaghetti noodles—a phenomenon that could slow down the pace of star formation in the surrounding gas.
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And, Crowe noted, the Webb telescope's startling images show Sagittarius C as it's never been seen before.
"Because of these magnetic fields, Sagittarius C has a fundamentally different shape, a different look than any other star forming region in the galaxy away from the galactic center," Crowe said.
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In his study, Bally explored Sagittarius C's unusual appearance. He explained that while the Orion Nebula looks mostly smooth, Sagittarius C is anything but. Weaving in and out of this region are dozens of bright filaments, some several light-years long. These filaments are made up of plasma, a hot gas of charged particles.
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Statistics: Posted by AVAO — Thu Apr 03, 2025 7:59 pm — Replies 0 — Views 43