Radio Survey for Ammonia in the Mid-Plane of the Milky Way Galaxy

恒星在黑暗的尘埃云中形成。这些恒星托儿所确实笼罩在神秘之中。黑暗、寒冷的恒星形成云遍布我们的银河系。研究人员试图了解这些云是如何转变成恒星团的。一些云坍缩成由数百颗恒星组成的星团。研究人员将绘制一大片银河系的地图，其中包含数千个这样的巨型云。这张地图将揭示这些云的位置，并确定它们的距离、结构、温度和内部运动。所有这些测量结果将与理论进行比较，以了解我们关于恒星形成的哪些观点应该得到支持。通过比较年轻的云和年老的云，研究人员将了解云在形成恒星时是如何变化的。由于我们的太阳是这样形成的，这项研究将有助于了解太阳和地球的起源。每年夏天，PI和一名研究生还将自愿参加为期两周的K-12教育推广项目（一天的研讨会和延长的夜间“科学营”），为西弗吉尼亚州的学生和教师服务。调查人员将使用位于西弗吉尼亚州的大型射电望远镜——绿岸望远镜。他们将测量来自密集恒星形成云内氨分子的波长接近1.3厘米（约半英寸）的无线电发射。氨排放物是冷、密气体的优良示踪剂。与其他分子示踪剂不同，氨发射可以同时用于测量距离、结构、温度和气体运动。他们将利用一种新型无线电“照相机”。这使得绿岸望远镜成为世界上对大片天空进行氨测绘的最好的望远镜。研究人员将探测到成千上万的恒星形成云。有了这么多的云，研究人员就能了解星团是如何随时间变化的，以及哪种恒星形成的理论是最好的。这些图像将通过一个专门的网站提供给天文学界和公众。如上所述，PI和一名研究生每年夏天将志愿参加两周的K-12学生和教师教育推广计划。在西弗吉尼亚州拥有一台高科技、最先进的望远镜，为在最需要的地方推广STEM教育提供了一个重要的机会。通过展示在西弗吉尼亚州进行的研究结果，他们希望激发学生和教师对STEM教育的重要性的认识。

Stars form in dark dusty clouds. These stellar nurseries are literally shrouded in mystery. Dark, cold star-forming clouds pervade our Milky Way Galaxy. The investigators seek to understand how these clouds transform into clumps of stars. Some clouds collapse into clusters of hundreds of stars. The investigators will map a large swath of the Milky Way Galaxy, which contains thousands of these giant clouds. This map will reveal the location of these clouds, and establish their distance, structure, temperature, and internal motions. All of these measurements will be compared with theories to learn which of our ideas about star formation should be supported. By comparing younger clouds with older clouds, the investigators will learn how the clouds change as they form stars. Since our sun formed in this way, this study will shed light on the origin of the sun and the earth. The PI and a graduate student also will volunteer two weeks each summer to participate in the K-12 educational outreach programs (one day workshops and extended overnight "science camps") for students and teachers in West Virginia. The investigators will use the Green Bank Telescope, a large radio telescope in West Virginia. They will measure radio emission with a wavelength near 1.3 centimeters (about half an inch) from ammonia molecules within the dense star-forming clouds. Ammonia emission is an excellent tracer of cold, dense gas. Unlike other molecular tracers, ammonia emission can be used to simultaneously measure distance, structure, temperature, and gas motions. They will capitalize on a novel radio "camera?, which makes the Green Bank Telescope the best telescope in the world for ammonia mapping over large swaths of sky. The investigators will detect thousands of star forming clouds. With such a large number of clouds, the investigators will how star clusters change over time, and which theories about star-formation are best. The images will be available to the astronomical community and to the public via a dedicated web site. As noted above, the PI and a graduate student will volunteer two weeks each summer to participate in the K-12 educational outreach programs for students and teachers. Having a high-tech, state of the art telescope in West Virginia provides an important opportunity to promote STEM education where it is most sorely needed. By showing the results of the research done in West Virginia they hope to inspire students and teachers about the importance of STEM education.