Observations of Star Formation

Autor(en)

E. A. Lada, J. F. Alves

Abstrakt

Star formation is a continuous ongoing process occurring over the

lifetime of our Galaxy and the universe. However understanding how

stars form from their pre-natal clouds of gas and dust remains a

mystery. During the last two decades we have made remarkable progress

toward unraveling this mystery mainly due to advances in observational

technology especially at infrared and millimeter wavelengths which allow

direct observation of the sites of star birth. Such observations suggest

that embedded clusters may be the fundamental units of star formation in

molecular clouds. Low star formation efficiency and rapid gas dispersal

make these clusters disperse to provide the field star population.

Consequently embedded clusters provide important laboratories for

investigating fundamental issues of star formation within our Galaxy.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Astrophysik

Band

221

Seiten

3

Publikationsdatum

09-2004

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