SOFIA scientists have been able to detect deeply embedded, massive young stellar objects and derive their physical properties in the extreme environment of the Omega Nebula (M17). With SOFIA providing the sharpest mid-infrared image ever obtained of this region, the study was able to reveal a number of objects for the first time and deliver important clues of the global evolutionary history.
NASA has captured an extremely crisp infrared image of the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Spanning a distance of more than 600 light-years, this panorama reveals details within the dense swirls of gas and dust in high resolution, opening the door to future research into how massive stars are forming and what’s feeding the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s core.
