Coloured infrared image showing a portion of the Milky Way. It shows the emission deriving from ionised carbon seen at the edges of regions, seen here

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Coloured infrared image showing a portion of the Milky Way. It shows the emission deriving from ionised carbon seen at the edges of regions, seen here as red-white-yellow knots, where stellar formation is taking place. Ionised carbon may play a crucial role in both helping or hindering stellar formation. The latter may be achieved either by radiating heat away from the collapsing protostar systems or by injecting turbulence into them through its interaction with their magnetic field. The image was obtained by a balloon-borne telescope made by a Japanese-US team.

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Size: 4911px × 3468px
Photo credit: © H. OKUDA, LABORATORY OF INFRARED ASTROPHYSICS, ISAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, carbon, cosmology, false-coloured, formation, galactic, galaxy, infrared, map, milky, role, science, sky, star, starbirth