A recent study reveals that the spherical void spans up to 500 light-years and is situated amidst stellar nurseries in the constellations Perseus and Taurus. These stars are formed from dust and gas clouds, commonly referred to as molecular clouds or “stellar nurseries.”
.jpg)
The position of the spherical cavity within the Milky Way galaxy (on the right). A zoomed-in image of the cavity (on the left) reveals the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds in blue and red hues. Image courtesy of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Researchers in the study suggest that this new finding may shed light on how supermassive stars influence star formation.
“Hundreds of stars are currently forming or lingering on the surface of this giant cavity,” said Shmuel Bialy, a researcher at the Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).
“We have two hypotheses. Firstly, a supermassive star has exited the core of the cavity, pushing gas outward to create the ‘Perseus-Taurus superbubble.’ Secondly, a series of supernovae events occurring over millions of years has given rise to the cavity,” explained researcher Bialy.
Using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft, scientists were able to map the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds in 3D for the first time. The 3D map revealed that the giant cavity was previously challenging to grasp in the 2D maps of the region.
“We could see these clouds for decades, but we never knew their actual shape, depth, or thickness,” stated co-author of the study, Catherine Zucker, a researcher at CfA.
The team of scientists mapped regions of star formation to gain a better understanding of how gas and dust escape during a supernova explosion and rearrange into molecular clouds to form new stars. Their discovery indicates that the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds were formed as a result of the same supernova shockwave, showcasing the powerful impact of supernova explosions.
“This demonstrates that when a star dies, its supernova will generate a chain of events that can lead to the birth of new stars,” added researcher Bialy.