Young stars in massive star-forming regions. The results of the “Chandra Cygnus OB2 Legacy Survey” recently published

Today in the Milky Way, star formation typically occurs in low-mass environments. Young star clusters (e.g., younger than 10 million years), in fact, typically have a mass of a few hundred solar masses. Nevertheless, our Galaxy hosts a few very massive star-forming regions that can produce tens to hundreds of thousands of stars, including some of the most massive stars

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Two cycles, two programs. The astronomers of the INAF – OAPA will study the star formation in extreme environments wth JWST

The formation of stars and planets results from the complex interplay of various factors and agents: the collapse of the cloud due to its own gravitational force, its internal turbulence and magnetic effects, the evolution of star clusters formed within, and the interactions among young stars within these clusters, as well as the influence of their radiation on the surrounding

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Morphology, dynamics, and star formation in the Cone Nebula. The study: “Spatial and dynamical structure of the NGC 2264 star-forming region” of E. Flaccomio (INAF – OAPA) recently appeared on A&A

Several questions about the star formation process are still debated. For instance, we know that stars form from the gravitational contraction of clouds of gas and dust, called “molecular clouds,” since they are mainly made of molecular hydrogen. Mainly thanks to observations from the Herschel satellite, we also know that most star formation occurs in long filaments embedded in these

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A new catalog of the Young Stellar Objects within 4500 light years based on Gaia/EDR3. The study: “Low mass young stars in the Milky Way unveiled by DBSCAN and Gaia EDR3. Mapping the star forming regions within 1.5 Kpc” of L. Prisinzano (INAF – OAPA) recently published by A&A

After their formation, during the first few million of years (how many? it depends on the mass: the larger the stellar mass the faster is their evolution) stars continue to contract under their the action of their own gravity, rising their temperature and density. During this phase, their nuclei have not started yet the thermonuclear reactions that will power the

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Supernova explosions can trigger star formation events. The study: “Negative and positive feedback from a supernova remnant with SHREC: a detailed study of the shocked gas in IC443” of G. Cosentino (Chalmers University of Technology) recently appeared on MNRAS

A supernova is the final act of the evolution of a massive star. These spectacular explosions are among the most energetic events we observe in the Universe, and they can seriously impact the surrounding environment. In particular, during the expansions of the supernova remnants, which are the expanding clouds produced by supernova explosions, the process of star formation in the

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Completed the Chandra/ACIS-I observations of the starburst cluster Westerlund 1 as part of the EWOCS (Extended Westerlund One Chandra Survey) project.

The amount of gas that is converted into stars by the star formation process is described by the star formation rate. For instance, in the Milky Way today between 0.7 and 1.5 solar masses of gas are converted into stars each year. However, this a mean value across our Galaxy, since locally clouds can start forming stars at higher rates

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The program “Testing protoplanetary disk evolution and brown dwarf formation in starburst: NIRCAM and MIRI observations of the young cluster Westerlund 1” of M. G. Guarcello (INAF – OAPA) is among the accepted proposals of the JWST Cycle 1

The James Webb Telescope (JWST) will be the most complex and powerful telescope ever launched into space. Built by a consortium formed by NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), thanks to its primary mirror with a diameter of 6.5 meters (for comparison, the mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope has a diameter of 2.5 meters) and its four

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Accretion and dispersion of protoplanetary disks. The study: “X-shooter spectroscopy of young stars with disks. The TW Hydrae association as a probe of the final stages of disk accretion” by L. Venuti (Eberhard Karls Universität/Cornell University/NASA) recently published by A&A

At a distance of about 160 light years, the stellar association TW Hydrae is a benchmark for the study of pre-main sequence stars and their protoplanetary disks. Pre-main sequence stars are a few million years old stars, still gravitationally contracting and not powered yet by the thermonuclear reactions. They are often surrounded by disks of dust and gas called “protoplanetary

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The chronology of star formation in the Lagoon.The study: “The Gaia-ESO Survey: Age spread in the star forming region NGC 6530 from the HR diagram and gravity indicators” of L. Prisinzano (INAF-OAPA) recently appeared on A&A

Stars form from the gravitational contraction of large gas clouds. This process may occur in two different modes: It may be fast, with a characteristic timescale dictated by the free fall of gas onto the forming stars, or it may be slow, sustained by turbulence and magnetic field. In the former case stars form over a short period, while in

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Formation and evolution of the Sco OB2 association. The study: “Stellar population of Sco OB2 revealed by Gaia DR2 data” of F. Damiani (INAF-OAPA) recently appeared on A&A

OB associations have a rich population of massive stars (O and B stars), which are young and typically dispersed over large regions of the sky. While these massive stars can be easily recognized thanks to their intense luminosity, it is very hard to select the low mass stars belonging to OB associations. This because without evident stellar concentrations, these stars

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