A new paper digs into how and why the Tarantula Nebula is making new stars even though it shouldn’t be able to.
The Tarantula Nebula is known for its beautiful colors, and we’ve seen some stunning photos of the Tarantula Nebula thanks to James Webb and other space telescopes. Now, though, using data from NASA’s SOFIA telescope, which shut down in October of 2022, scientists may have figured out the answer to one of the nebula’s biggest mysteries; how it continues to make new stars despite the fact it shouldn’t be able to.
According to a new paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the Tarantula Nebula continues to birth new stars, spitting out enormous amounts of energy.
