Serpens south
Encyclopedia
The Serpens South star cluster is a relatively dense group of 50 young stars, 35 of which are protostars just beginning to form. The cluster
is situated in the southern portion of the Serpens
cloud, located approximately 848 light-years away from Earth.
The cluster was uncovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope
in the southern portion of the Serpens cloud. The discovery was possible due to the infrared
observation capabilities of the SST because at visible wavelengths
the stars are completely obscured by interstellar dust in the Serpens cloud.
The stars of the cluster were dubbed "siblings" by the team of astronomers led by Dr. Robert Gutermuth, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
, because they were able to determine that the newly discovered stars belonged to the Serpens star-forming cloud, which also hosts the previously known Serpens embedded cluster, three degrees to the north.
The discovery of Serpens South is a direct result of the Gould's Belt Legacy
project, which aims to study all prominent star-forming regions within about 1,600 light-years of Earth. These regions together form a ring of molecular clouds and associated young stars known as the Gould’s Belt
and was first described by astronomer Benjamin Gould in 1879. Astronomers working on the project are trying to determine how members of large stellar families are related.
Star cluster
Star clusters or star clouds are groups of stars. Two types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters, more loosely clustered groups of stars, generally contain less than...
is situated in the southern portion of the Serpens
Serpens
Serpens is a constellation of the northern hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union....
cloud, located approximately 848 light-years away from Earth.
The cluster was uncovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
in the southern portion of the Serpens cloud. The discovery was possible due to the infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
observation capabilities of the SST because at visible wavelengths
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
the stars are completely obscured by interstellar dust in the Serpens cloud.
The stars of the cluster were dubbed "siblings" by the team of astronomers led by Dr. Robert Gutermuth, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education...
, because they were able to determine that the newly discovered stars belonged to the Serpens star-forming cloud, which also hosts the previously known Serpens embedded cluster, three degrees to the north.
The discovery of Serpens South is a direct result of the Gould's Belt Legacy
Gould Belt Survey
The Gould Belt Survey is an astronomical research project led by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, with the participation of several other institutions....
project, which aims to study all prominent star-forming regions within about 1,600 light-years of Earth. These regions together form a ring of molecular clouds and associated young stars known as the Gould’s Belt
Gould Belt
The Gould Belt is a partial ring of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, about 3000 light years across, tilted toward the galactic plane by about 16 to 20 degrees. It contains many spectral class O- and B-type stars, and may represent the local spiral arm to which the Sun belongs—currently the Sun is...
and was first described by astronomer Benjamin Gould in 1879. Astronomers working on the project are trying to determine how members of large stellar families are related.