3-D CMZ: Unveiling the Structure of the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy

这个天文项目将生成一个银河系中心的“三维”地图。该小组将编制一份气体云和尘埃云的目录，供其他科学家使用。来自赫歇尔太空望远镜的红外数据将与来自智利APEX望远镜和澳大利亚MOPRA望远镜的射电观测相结合。通过观察来自温暖尘埃和甲醛、甲醇和一氧化硅等分子的辐射，该团队将揭示云的三维形状、大小和距离。这些数据将与恒星形成模型进行比较，以研究恒星是如何在银河系中心附近诞生的。银河系的中心，被称为中央分子带（CMZ），是一个复杂而难以观测的区域。正在使用的望远镜在红外线和无线电波长上工作，非常适合这个项目。相比之下，光学望远镜很难透过阻挡我们观察CMZ的气体和尘埃。CMZ包括我们银河系中心的超大质量黑洞，以及一些有趣的物体，比如“砖”，一个尚未产生任何恒星的致密云团，以及“三只小猪”，一排三个即将诞生恒星的团块。了解CMZ对于建立星系模型以及在稠密云团中诞生恒星的理论具有重要意义。一名博士后研究员将参与这个重要而激动人心的项目。CMZ的云目录将发布在一个易于使用的网站上。该团队还将制作一个关于CMZ的定制课程计划，以及一次银河系中心的“全球望远镜”之旅。该课程计划将作为“BiteScis”项目的一部分制定，该项目由该项目的首席研究员（PI）和波士顿科学教师领导。这些课程的设计与课程标准相关，在当地的K-12教室进行测试，并通过BiteScis网站与其他教师分享。WWT是由美国天文学会主办的一个项目，它将把CMZ调查的范围扩展到K-12课堂之外。PI多年来一直担任WWT的大使，并致力于将她的调查数据纳入WWT。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This astronomy project will produce a "3-dimensional" map of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The team will develop a catalogue of gas and dust clouds for use by other scientists. Infrared data from the Herschel space telescope will be combined with radio observations from the APEX telescope in Chile and the MOPRA telescope in Australia. By observing radiation from warm dust and from molecules like formaldehyde, methanol, and silicon monoxide, the team will reveal the 3-D shapes, sizes, and distances of the clouds. The data will be compared to models of star formation to investigate how stars are born near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The center of the Milky Way, known as the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), is complicated and difficult to observe. The telescopes being used, which operate at infrared and radio wavelengths, are very well suited to this project. By comparison, optical telescopes struggle to see through the gas and dust that blocks our view of the CMZ. The CMZ includes the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy, and intriguing objects like "the brick", a dense cloud that has yet to create any stars, and "the three little pigs", a row of three clumps on the verge of star birth. Understanding the CMZ is of great importance to models of the galaxy, and to theories of star birth in dense clouds.A postdoctoral researcher will be involved in this important and exciting project. The catalogue of clouds in the CMZ will be posted on an easy-to-use website. The team will also produce a custom lesson plan on the CMZ and a "WorldWide Telescope" (WWT) tour of our Galaxy's center. The lesson plan will be developed as part of the "BiteScis" program, which is led by this project's Principle Investigator (PI) and by a Boston Science Teacher. The lessons are designed to relate to curriculum standards, are tested in a local K-12 classroom, and are shared with other teachers through the BiteScis website. The WWT, a project hosted by the American Astronomical Society, will extend the reach of the CMZ survey beyond the K-12 classroom. The PI has served as an ambassador to the WWT for a number of years and is committed to including her survey data in the WWT.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.