Stars are born in disks of matter. The details of this cosmic birth are still clouded in mystery, however. A team of astronomers headed by Stefan Kraus and comprising members of two research groups at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn have now obtained the first infrared image of one of these compact disks around a massive young star. The very detailed image shows that such "heavyweights" form in the same way as their lower mass cousins. (Nature, July 15, 2010)
Fig. 1: Cosmic delivery room as seen by an artist: An artist’s impression of the disk of dust encircling a massive young star.
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http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/2010/pressRelease20100719/index.html(sy)
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