Cosmic Waves

Image of the molecular gas (carbon monoxide) distribution in the southern spiral arm of the galaxy NGC 4321 spanning roughly 15,000 light years across. The bright spots indicate giant molecular clouds that are semi-regularly spaced inside the ridge of more dilute gas inside the spiral arm. The cyan circles depict the locations of star forming complexes. J. Henshaw / MPIA - The molecular gas in galaxies is organised into a hierarchy of structures. It moves along filament-like orbits to centres of gas and dust where it is compressed into stars and planets. To better understand this, an international team of astronomers led by Dr Jonathan Henshaw from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and Dr Diederik Kruijssen from the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg University examined gas movements on various size scales. The scientists found that the gas flows through different scales are dynamically interconnected: while star and planet formation takes place in compact cores of dense gas, this process is controlled by a cascade of matter flows that begin on galactic scales.