🌎 Resumen en español · traducción automática
Un astrofísico de la Universidad de Kentucky descubrió aproximadamente 50 cúmulos estelares jóvenes y masivos ocultos en las galaxias NGC 3351 y NGC 1097, utilizando datos del Telescopio Espacial James Webb de la NASA combinados con observatorios de radio para penetrar el polvo cósmico que normalmente bloquea la vista. El hallazgo, presentado en la reunión de la Sociedad Astronómica Americana el 17 de junio en Pasadena, California, revela que estos cúmulos se forman durante períodos extendidos y son viveros estelares muy eficientes. El estudio proporciona nuevas perspectivas sobre cómo se forman las estrellas y evolucionan las galaxias, además de ofrecer una ventana rara hacia la historia cósmica al estudiar condiciones de formación estelar extrema que eran comunes en el universo primitivo.
Traducción y resumen generados por IA a partir del artículo en inglés. Puede contener errores; consulte el texto original.
A University of Kentucky astrophysicist has helped uncover dozens of previously hidden star clusters deep inside nearby galaxies, according to findings presented at the American Astronomical Society. The discovery provides new insights into how stars form and galaxies evolve over time.
Sajia Shahrin Neha, a predoctoral researcher in UK’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, led the research analyzing star clusters in two nearby galaxies, NGC 3351 and NGC 1097. The team combined observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with radio observatories to penetrate the cosmic dust that typically obscures young stellar nurseries.
“These young, massive clusters are extreme star-forming regions in the earliest stages of their lives,” Neha said. “Unfortunately, the same cosmic dust obstructs our view, especially in the optical wavelength.”
The research identified approximately 50 young massive star clusters at various stages of development, from deeply embedded formations just beginning to form to more evolved systems. Radio observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array allowed the team to see through dust that blocks optical telescopes, while infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope independently confirmed the clusters and revealed surrounding structures.
The work reveals that these massive clusters form over an extended period and are remarkably efficient stellar nurseries, using most of their gas reservoirs to birth new stars. The research was presented June 17 at the 248th American Astronomical Society meeting in Pasadena, California.
Jiayi Sun, the UK astrophysicist who advises Neha, noted that studying extreme star-forming environments provides “a rare window into cosmic history, allowing us to glimpse the distant past in our own cosmic backyard,” since such conditions were common in the early universe.
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Lane Report (KY Business), enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.lanereport.com/188188/2026/06/uk-led-study-uncovers-hidden-star-clusters-deep-inside-nearby-galaxies/.
