Scots team shed new light on Milky Way

Published on Friday 2 October 2009 22:04

STRIKING images of our galaxy have shown part of the Milky Way in a new light.

The pictures were captured by a high-tech camera system partly developed in Scotland.

They show the galaxy in a "turbulent" process, constantly forging new generations of stars.

The team at the UK Astronomy and Technology Centre, based at the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, helped design the Spire camera.

It captures images of emissions from clouds of dust where stars are forming. The images were produced by the Herschel Space Observatory using, for the first time, the Spire camera in tandem with the satellite's other camera, Pacs.

Herschel, launched in May and named after the man who discovered the planet Uranus, carries the largest telescope ever flown into space.

Together, the cameras not only reveal new material in the galaxy but also provide astronomers with information about how much material there is, its mass, temperature and composition, and whether or not some of it is collapsing to form new stars.