A Starbirth Filament in Submillimeter Wavelengths

Our most basic view of the sky comes via our visible-light-sensitive eyes. Yes, we can see gorgeous stars, particularly this time of year when Orion and Taurus and the other constellations are riding high in the sky. But, we see only the wavelengths of light from stars and planets and nebulae and galaxies that our eyes can detect. 

All things radiate in more than one set of wavelengths of light. The Sun, for example, is visible in optical (visible) light, but also in radio frequencies, ultraviolet, infrared, and so on. To see the “other” light that things emit or reflect, we need other detectors to enhance our own senses.

The European Southern Observatory has a telescope called APEX outfitted with an instrument called the LABOCA camera. It is sensitive to submillimeter wavelengths of light. In the electromagnetic spectrum, these are wavelengths that lie between infrared and radio waves. They emanate from slightly warm objects, such as clouds of gas and dust in star-forming regions. “Warm” is a relative term. The clouds are heated by nearby stars and are hotter than surrounding space, but they’re actually cold enough that only infrared and submillimeter detectors can “see” them.  These wavelengths are what allows us to “peek inside” starbirth créches because those wavelengths of light can pass through the gas and dust clouds.

In this image, we see a sinuous filament of gas and dust in the constellation Taurus. It’s part of a larger nebula called the Taurus Molecular Cloud. This segment you see here is about 10 light-years long. It contains dense clouds of gas that are going to collapse in on themselves to make new stars. There are also newborn stars in the cloud, visible as a faint glow in LABOCA’s view.

Our skies are filled with places like this, where the constant cycle of star birth takes place, using hydrogen gas and clouds of material formed in previous stellar explosions to create newborn stars. Fortunately, we have incredibly great detectors to show us what’s really happening among the stars!

A Cosmic Field Trip

Last entry I talked about the upcoming Cosmos series,which begins airing on March 9th on Fox and affiliated networks. There’s a lot of excitement about it, and rightly so. It has been decades since the original came out, and those of us who remember it have been anxiously awaiting this next-generation version to see how it shapes up. But, it’s not just that. It’s also because a generation of us  were “raised” in the tradition that Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan and Stephen Soter began, and were inspired to go out to share our love of the cosmos in their footsteps.  We took it as our mantra to “pay it forward” and share the cosmos as these three did for us. Certainly that’s what led me to become a producer of astronomy and space shows. Again, thanks to those three.

So far, based on the special sneak preview copy that FOX sent to me, I like it (with the few caveats I mentioned earlier). I think it’s SO important to keep our awareness of the cosmos front and center, to remind ourselves that we have so many cool things to learn and explore through astronomy and science. I’ve been doing that through my writing and planetarium shows and documentaries and other astronomy outreach, and I’m happy to see that at least one part of the “mainstream media” interested in doing that, too. And, part of me is a kid excited about astronomy that says, “Come on folks — it’s COSMOS!!!”

The series officially begins airing on March 9th, but there is a really cool multi-city live premiere screening on March 4th featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson, producers Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane, Mitchell Cannold, Brannon Braga, and Jason Clark. Wow, would I LOVE to be at the Los Angeles premiere (right in the shadow of Griffith Observatory, where I did so much work on their exhibits a few years back). That would be impressive, no?  

Live in L.A.?  Then YOU can go there for me! 

In fact, there’s a special contest for two lucky folks to win a trip to L.A. to do just that. Enter that here!

The main event is in Los Angeles at the Cosmos Pavilion at the Greek Theatre. You can also watch it from selected venues in any of the following cities: Detroit at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, in Miami at the Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of Science, in New York at the American Museum of Natural History, in Orlando at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in Washington, D.C. at the National Geographic Headquarters, in Chicago at the Adler Planetarium, in Dallas at the Planetarium of the University of Texas at Arlington, in St. Louis at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center, and in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences.

To attend at any of the venues, click HERE for RSVP details. 

You can also watch the whole thing as a streaming experience if you can’t get to one of the cities. Just point your browser to http://new.livestream.com/ and/or www.cosmosontv.com for the whole experience from your computer.

Whatever you do, don’t miss seeing Cosmos. It’s the astronomy field trip of a lifetime!