Surprising discovery in the center of the Milky Way aided by the James Webb Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has facilitated a surprising discovery in our galaxy. Within the star-forming region known as Sagittarius C (Sgr C), astronomers have spotted structures previously unseen.
7:32 PM EST, November 21, 2023
Sgr C, situated merely 300 light-years away from the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's center, is typically obscured by substantial dust, thus making it challenging to observe until now.
Enhanced by its specialized Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the JWST is uniquely suited for observing distant areas of our galaxy. In addition to discovering new galaxies, the telescope also enabled a new revelation reported by Space.com, which comes complete with a unique photograph.
Astronomers' remarkable discovery
In the star-forming region of Sgr C, approximately 500,000 stars are scattered, resembling glitter on a bluish backdrop. This vivid depiction was captured by the JWST in a breathtaking photograph.
Stars are born in clusters of cold and dense molecular hydrogen that collapse under the force of gravity. These photographed clusters are interlaced with interstellar dust at temperatures just above absolute zero. In some areas, dust patches are too dense for the JWST and its special camera to penetrate.
Samuel Crowe, an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, is conducting an analysis of the new photograph.
"We are witnessing objects here for the first time," declared Crowe, admiring the exquisite resolution and sensitivity of the JWST's 6.5-meter mirror - the largest ever launched into space.
Clustered around the lower edge, fragments of bright ionized hydrogen were found. The team admits that this type of hydrogen had been discovered previously, but they were astonished by the immense size of the area.
The galaxy's center captivates scientists' interest
Astronomers using the JWST intentionally selected the galaxy's center due to its intense star formation activity. Interestingly, this location bears some resemblance to the early star-forming galaxies, which, according to JWST research, existed hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang.
"The center of the galaxy is the most extreme environment in our Milky Way, where present theories of star formation can be subjected to the most rigorous tests," stated Jonathan Tan, one of Crowe's supervisors from the University of Virginia.
Specifically, astronomers are investigating whether the star-formation regions in our galaxy's center have a higher likelihood of forming massive stars compared to the more distant spiral arm regions of the Milky Way.
