Exploring Star Forming Regions
Above are three grayscale images of the same spiral galaxy taken with u, i, and z filters.
Two parts of a spiral galaxy are a central spherical region known as the bulge and an extended disc that contains arms. Spiral galaxies have regions of active star formation in the arms where hot young stars are located.
Examine the images and compare how the bulge and arms appear different through each filter.
Questions
- Regions of active star formation will emit large amounts ofwavelength light.
- In which filter is the active star forming region most clearly defined?