The largest image ever taken with the ALMA telescope in Chile has revealed the chemistry hidden at the heart of the Milky Way.
The colossal image captures 650 light-years of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) – one of the most extreme environments in the entire galaxy.
This dense region, located 28,000 light-years from Earth, is a vast reservoir of matter and stars that contains almost 80% of the galaxy's dense gas.
Called the ALMA CMZ Exploratory Survey (ACES), the image gives scientists an unprecedented view of the complex processes occurring within it.
The researchers discovered a diverse range of molecules, from simple chemicals like silicon monoxide to more complex organic molecules like methanol, acetone and ethanol.
Co-author Dr Ashley Barnes, from the European Southern Observatory, told the Daily Mail: "One of the most exciting aspects is the rich chemistry that we discover.
"We see dozens of different molecules, including complex organic molecules containing carbon - the same element that forms the basis of life on Earth."
"From ACES, we are learning more about how the ingredients for planets and potentially for life can form in the universe."
At the heart of the galaxy is the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, with a mass about four million times that of the Sun. Its gravitational pull and radiation create dense, turbulent conditions found nowhere else in the Milky Way.
Although the area is covered in dust, the ALMA telescope can image the cold gas of the CMZ – the basic material from which stars are born.
By stitching together a mosaic containing dozens of individual images, researchers have created an incredibly detailed view of this difficult-to-see area. From Earth, the image would cover an area of the sky the size of three consecutive full Moons.
As the study now reveals, the harsh conditions at the heart of the galaxy enable the production of larger and more complex molecules than those found near Earth. Some of these molecules may even be the precursors of amino acids – the basic building blocks of proteins in all forms of life.
Tracking the movement of molecules also helps astronomers understand the dynamic processes taking place within the heart of the galaxy. “These molecules form under specific conditions of temperature and pressure, so by mapping them we can understand the real environment,” explains Dr Barnes.
Mapping these “molecular tracers” allows ACES to detect flows, turbulence and chemistry from the massive scale of the galactic heart down to individual clumps of gas where a star may one day form.
Dr Barnes adds: "It shows a region that is constantly being reshaped by the gravity and life cycles of massive stars, and their interactions with exotic objects such as black holes. The image shows a vast network of long filaments of gas stretching across hundreds of light-years, dense clouds where new stars are forming, and vast empty spaces created by powerful stellar explosions."
The filaments appear to function like rivers of gas, funneling material into dense clouds where stars can grow. Dr Daniel Walker from the University of Manchester told the Daily Mail: "These structures have previously been seen in isolated areas, but ACES shows they are widely spread. Their origin remains unclear, but could follow magnetic fields, large gas flows, or previously elusive dynamical processes."
What makes this image so important is that conditions in the CMZ could reveal how our solar system and others like it formed. Professor Steven Longmore, from Liverpool John Moores University, said: “It is the best laboratory for understanding how the Sun and our solar system formed.”
The CMZ is the closest area to Earth with conditions similar to those of the early Universe, allowing the stars and planets forming there to be observed in extraordinary detail, and thus better understanding our origins. /GazetaExpress/
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