Photo Gallery The Incubator of Stars
Astronomers have long had a basic understanding of how stars form. They are essentially accretions of vast quantities of dust and gases that ultimately clump together with the help of gravity. Here, a vast star-forming region just outside our own Milky Way galaxy. Gigantic clouds can give birth to dozens of stars at once.
A new telescope, called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), has been mounted on an old passenger jet in order to collect infrared wavelengths from distant dust clouds to help astronomers better understand the process of star birth.
In this image of the galaxy Messier 82 clearly shows the vast amounts of dust and gas that are present in our universe. Within the galaxy, astronomers believe that stars are forming at 10 times the rate they are inside our Milky Way galaxy.
The telescope is the largest ever mounted on an aircraft. The jet flies at some 46,000 feet up, much higher than commercial aircraft.
In this image, it is easy to see the dust that is present in outer space. Ultimately, that dust may accrete to form a star.
A star producing region in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. Initial date from the SOFIA telescope indicates that star formation might be much faster than initially thought.
The SOFIA telescope is mounted in such a way to even out turbulence to ensure stable images. It is the largest US-German research project currently in operation.
The telescope must fly high above the earth's surface in order to eliminate the interference caused by water vapor in the atmosphere.
The telescope weighs close to 20 tons. It is the product of 20 years of cooperation, during which the project was almost cancelled several times.
Once stars have burned through their hydrogen supplies -- usually after several billion years -- they shed their outer layers, leaving behind a dense core known as a white dwarf. The material that is ejected becomes space dust and, ultimately, is incorporated into another new star.
Graphic: How stars are born.
