Science Results | SOFIA Science Center

Scientific Highlights
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The SOFIA Legacy Program FEEDBACK by Nicola Schneider, Alexander Tielens, and Anashe Bandari Paper: FEEDBACK: a SOFIA Legacy Program to Study Stellar Feedback in Regions of Massive Star Formation Schneider, N., et al., 2020/10, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 132j4301S.
The SOFIA/EXES Mid-IR High Spectral Resolution Library By José Pablo Fonfría, Ed Montiel & Joan Schmelz
Deuterated Hydroxyl as a Star Formation Tracer By Timea Csengeri and Joan Schmelz Paper: SOFIA/GREAT observations of OD and OH rotational lines towards high-mass star forming regions Csengeri, T., et al., 2022/02, A&A, 658A, A193.
Constraining Magnetic and Gravitational Energies in Star-Forming Clouds By Dennis Lee and Joan Schmelz Paper: HAWC+/SOFIA Polarimetry in L1688: Relative Orientation of Magnetic Field and Elongated Cloud Structure Lee, Dennis, et al., 2021/09, ApJ, 918, 39.
Temperature and Density Layers in the Ghost Nebula By Archana Soam and Joan Schmelz Paper: Spatial Variation in Temperature and Density in the IC 63 PDR from H ₂ Spectroscopy Soam, Archana, et al., 2021/12, ApJ, 923, 107.
Role of Magnetic Fields in Cloud Destruction in the Keyhole Nebula By Youngmin Seo and Joan Schmelz Paper: Probing Polarization and the Role of Magnetic Fields in Cloud Destruction in the Keyhole Nebula Seo, Young Min, et al., 2021/08, ApJ, 917, 57.
Stellar Feedback and Triggered Star Formation in RCW 120 By Matteo Luisi Paper: Stellar feedback and triggered star formation in the prototypical bubble RCW 120 Luisi, Matteo, et al., 2021/04, SciA, 7, 9511.
Episodic Accretion in High-Mass Protostars By James De Buizer and Joan Schmelz Paper: The Extraordinary Outburst in the Massive Protostellar System NGC 6334 I-MM1: Strong Increase in Mid-Infrared Continuum Emission Hunter, T. R., et al., 2021/05, ApJL, 912, L17.
Episodic Accretion in Massive Star Formation By Joan Schmelz and James Jackson Paper: Infrared observations of the flaring maser source G358.93-0.03. SOFIA confirms an accretion burst from a massive young stellar object Stecklum, B., et al., 2021/02, A&A, 646A, A161.
EXES Probes the Heart of Hot-Core Chemistry By Sarah Nickerson, Naseem Rangwala, and Joan Schmelz Paper: The First Mid-infrared Detection of HNC in the Interstellar Medium: Probing the Extreme Environment toward the Orion Hot Core Nickerson, et al., 2021/01, ApJ, 907, 51.
First Signs of Star Birth Triggered by Orion Wind By Cornelia Pabst, Javier Goicoechea, and Joan Schmelz Paper: Expanding bubbles in Orion A: [C II] observations of M 42, M 43, and NGC 1977 Pabst, C. H. M., et al., 2020/07, A&A, 639A, A2.
The Optical Depth of [CII]: the Implications for Galaxies both Near and Far By Cristian Guevara and Joan Schmelz Paper: [C II] 158 µm self-absorption and optical depth effects Guevara, C., et al., 2020/04, A&A, 636A, A16. Photodissociation Regions (PDRs) are zones of the interstellar medium in which Far-UV photons dominate the thermal balance, chemistry, structure, as well as the distribution of the gas and dust. The incident FUV field photodissociates molecules, photoionizes atoms and molecules, and heats the gas and dust.
Molecular Processing in the Disks of Massive Stars By Andrew Barr, Alexander Tielens, and Joan Schmelz Paper: High-resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of Hot Molecular Gas in AFGL 2591 and AFGL 2136: Accretion in the Inner Regions of Disks around Massive Young Stellar Objects Barr, Andrew G., et al., 2020/09, ApJ, 900, 104.
A Magnetic Hourglass Detection for a Low-Mass Protostar By Elena Redaelli and Joan Schmelz Paper: Magnetic Properties of the Protostellar Core IRAS 15398-3359 E. Redaelli, et al., 2019 A&A, 631, A154.
Magnetized Filamentary Gas Flows in Serpens South By Thushara Pillai and Joan Schmelz Paper: Magnetized filamentary gas flows feeding the young embedded cluster in Serpens South Pillai, T.G., et al., 2020, Nat Astron (2020).
Massive Star Formation in the Omega Nebula By Wanggi Lim and Joan Schmelz Paper: Surveying the Giant H ii Regions of the Milky Way with SOFIA. II. M17 Lim, et al., 2020, ApJ, 888, 98.
Planetary Collisions in a Binary Star System By Maggie Thompson, Ralph Shuping, and Joan Schmelz Paper: Studying the Evolution of Warm Dust Encircling BD +20 307 Using SOFIA Thompson, Maggie A., et al., 2019, ApJ, 875, 45. Recent observations from SOFIA of a binary star system designated BD +20 307 indicate that there may have been a catastrophic collision between two planets within the last 10 years.
The Cosmic Fireworks of Massive Star Formation By W. Lim, J. De Buizer, R. Klein, and J. Schmelz (USRA) Paper: Surveying the Giant HII Regions of the Milky Way with SOFIA. I. W51A Lim and De Buizer 2019, ApJ, 873, 51.
Lifting the Veil on Star Formation in the Orion Nebula By Kassandra Bell and Joan Schmelz (USRA) Paper: Disruption of the Orion molecular core 1 by wind from the massive star θ ¹ Orionis C Pabst et al. 2019, Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0844-1
NASA’s SOFIA Observatory Captures Orion’s Dragon in 3-D New data from NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, reveal a three-dimensional (3-D) view of the Orion Nebula – Earth’s closest star-formation nursery – and a powerful stellar wind. Researchers can rotate, zoom in, and even dive through this data cube to better understand how stars are forming.
Cosmic Collisions: Unraveling the Mysterious Formation of Star Clusters By Kassandra Bell and Joan Schmelz (USRA) Paper: The Inception of Star Cluster Formation Revealed by [CII] Emission Around an Infrared Dark Cloud Bisbas, Tan et al. 2018, MNRAS, 478, L54.
SOFIA Reveals Never-Before-Seen Magnetic Field Details The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, released new data from its recent Southern Hemisphere observations revealing the structure of celestial magnetic fields in the region known as 30 Doradus , or 30 Dor, at a scale that has never been seen before.
What’s Happening in Orion’s Horsehead Nebula? Two research teams used a map from NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, to uncover new findings about stars forming in Orion’s iconic Horsehead Nebula. The map reveals vital details for getting a complete understanding of the dust and gas involved in star formation.
What Stars Will Hatch From The Tarantula Nebula? NASA’s Flying Observatory Seeks to Find Out. To have a full picture of the lives of massive stars, researchers need to study them in all stages – from when they’re a mass of unformed gas and dust, to their often dynamic end-of-life explosions.
New SOFIA Observations Help Unravel Mysteries of the Birth of Colossal Suns Astronomers are observing star-forming regions in our galaxy with NASA’s flying telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, to understand the processes and environments required to create the largest known stars, which tip the scales at ten times the mass of our own Sun or more.
Understanding Star Formation in the Nucleus of Galaxy IC 342 An international team of researchers used NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, to make maps of the ring of molecular clouds that encircles the nucleus of galaxy IC 342. The maps determined the proportion of hot gas surrounding young stars as well as cooler gas available for future star formation. The SOFIA maps indicate that most of the gas in the central zone of IC 342, like the gas in a similar region of our Milky Way Galaxy, is heated by already-formed stars, and relatively little is in dormant clouds of raw material.