A Tour of Flame Nebula
Narrator (April Hobart, CXC): Astronomers
have made an important advance in the understanding
of how clusters of stars like our Sun form
using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
and infrared telescopes.
The data show early notions of how star clusters
are formed cannot be correct.
The simplest idea is stars form into clusters
when a giant cloud of gas and dust condenses.
The center of the cloud pulls in material
from its surroundings until it becomes dense
enough to trigger star formation.
This process occurs in the center of the cloud
first, implying that the stars in the middle
of the cluster form first and, therefore,
are the oldest.
These new results suggest something else is
happening.
By studying two clusters where Sun-like stars
are forming - NGC 2024 (located in the center
of the "Flame Nebula") and the Orion Nebula
Cluster - researchers have discovered the
stars on the outskirts of the clusters are
actually the oldest.
The researchers will use this same technique
of combining X-rays and infrared data to study
the age range in other clusters.
In the meantime, scientists will be hard at
work to develop other, more complex ideas
to explain what they've seen in NGC 2024 and
the Orion Nebula Cluster.
