Star Formation: Three scientists at Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), University of Copenhagen, have carried out extensive computer simulations related to star formation. They conclude that the present idealized models are lacking when it comes to describing details in the star formation process. “Hopefully our results can also help shed more light on planet formation”, says Michael Küffmeier, astrophysicist and head of the research team.
Star Formation: Three scientists at Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), University of Copenhagen, have carried out extensive computer simulations related to star formation. They conclude that the present idealized models are lacking when it comes to describing details in the star formation process. “Hopefully our results can also help shed more light on planet formation”, says Michael Küffmeier, astrophysicist and head of the research team.
In order to explain the basics of star formation, one can use simple models – simple geometrical shapes that are easy to understand and relate to.
But even so – even when such simple models can explain the basic principles at work, they may still be lacking when it comes to quantitative details - which is exactly what three researchers from Centre for Star and Planet Formation at NBI demonstrate in a scientific article just published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The scientists carried out computer simulations of the formation of hundreds of stars, from which nine carefully selected stars, representing various regions in space, were chosen for more detailed modeling, explains astrophysicist Michael Küffmeier, head of the project – which is also a major part of his Ph.D. dissertation.
Read more at Faculty of Science - University of Copenhagen
Image: Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, consists of more than 100 billion stars. New stars are formed in so-called molecular clouds, where most of the gas is in the form of molecules, and is very cold. In the Milky Way there are many different varieties of molecular clouds, with for example masses ranging from a few hundred to several million times the mass of the Sun. (Credit: NASA)
