A sharp view of the center of the Milky Way – University of Innsbruck

Previous observations have identified faint infrared sources in the immediate vicinity Sagittarius A*The supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Although very high gas densities are needed to overcome the strong tidal forces of the black hole during star formation, there is increasing evidence that new stars are being born in the heart of the Milky Way.

With her team, Nadine Sebha from Institute of Astrophysics and Particles From the University of Innsbruck this hypothesis with the help of what has been put into practice recently James Webb Space Telescope Check the extent. “We will point the telescope at these faint sources at the center of our galaxy in August and September,” says the astrophysicist from Jordan. “Using the new highly sensitive telescope, it will be possible to detect these young stars with relatively low masses.”

If the research team can confirm that these light sources are in fact such young stars, this means that planets can also form in extreme conditions around black holes in the cores of galaxies.

In addition to investigations with the space telescope, Nadine is also using Sabha to study star formation near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Very Large Telescope (VLT) ESO in Chile. This high-resolution ground-based telescope can also be used to observe regions in the very bright center of the galaxy relative to the highly sensitive James Webb Telescope.

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Innsbruck astrophysicist Nadine B. gravitational waves.

Nadine Sebha in Jordan University of Science and Technology He studied applied physics. As a member of the Bonn Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS), she obtained her MA in Experimental Physics in 2010, being awarded the 2011 DAAD Award for Outstanding International Students at German Universities. Based on her master’s thesis on high-resolution infrared studies of the parsec of our galaxy, she received her PhD in 2014 from the University of Cologne.

Her research focuses on studying the center of our galaxy using infrared observations to study star formation and abundance in a massive environment. She is also part of engravingan international collaboration dedicated to the detection of electromagnetic analogs of gravitational wave sources.

In addition, Nadine Sabha participates in the development of scientific programs for the University of Innsbruck Instruments as part of her work at the University of Innsbruck. Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) ESO, the next generation of ground-based telescopes (40m class).