{“title”:”Astronomers map star birthplaces with AI, expanding galactic knowledge”}

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Using advances in artificial intelligence, astronomers have produced a detailed map of where stars begin in our Milky Way, a breakthrough highlighted by Osaka University. The project showcases how intelligent data analysis can reveal the hidden birthplaces of stars amidst the vastness of space.

Stars form when clouds of gas and dust collapse under their own gravity, triggering nuclear fusion in their interiors. These molecular clouds are exceedingly cold and diffuse, so they do not emit visible light. Instead, they release faint radio waves that radio telescopes can detect. From Earth, the view is complicated by overlapping foreground and background material. This layering makes it challenging to separate individual clouds and accurately measure their distances, sizes, and masses.

Led by Dr. Shinji Fujita, the research team identified about 140,000 molecular clouds that intersect regions of active star formation within the Milky Way. The analysis relied on molecular gas data collected with the Nobeyama Radio Observatory’s 45-meter telescope. Through the use of artificial intelligence, the researchers estimated the distance to each cloud, inferred its physical extent and mass, and plotted them on a comprehensive map. The resulting atlas, described as the most detailed to date, charts the first galactic quadrant and provides a powerful reference for understanding how stars emerge from their gaseous cradles. This effort is presented with attribution to Osaka University and the collaborating institutions involved in the data processing and interpretation (attribution: Osaka University).

Looking ahead, the team recognizes that the southern sky remains inaccessible from Japan due to geographic and seasonal constraints. To complete a global perspective, plans are in place to augment the map with observations from telescope facilities in the southern hemisphere. Integrating these additional data will help construct a more accurate dynamical model of galactic evolution and the cosmic lifecycle of stars, from cloud to bright stellar newborns (attribution: Osaka University).

In a related line of discovery, previous observations identified two giant exoplanets located at distances of 353 and 524 light-years from Earth. These findings contribute to the broader narrative of planetary systems forming around stars and offer context for how the Galaxy hosts a diverse array of celestial bodies, from newborn stars to mature planetary systems (attribution: Osaka University).”}

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