Is The Milky Way Producing More Stars Than Scientists Previously Believed?

Astronomers discover our galaxy is one heck of a baby star-maker.

Transcript

00:00The Milky Way is our home, and like many other galaxies, it's a veritable star factory.

00:08But according to new research soon to be published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics,

00:12new evidence suggests it's a far more active manufacturer than we previously thought.

00:17When stars enter existence, coming together as interstellar dust and debris accrete and

00:20collapse into one of these burning giants, they emit tons of energy.

00:24As that energy is sent out into space, byproducts of the birth are carried out with them, including

00:28elements.

00:29One of those elements we know of is called Aluminum-26, which tends to decay extremely

00:33quickly, meaning it's a great marker not only for where stars have formed, but also

00:37when.

00:38Aluminum-26 produces gamma rays as it decays, and by recording those figures, astronomers

00:43now believe they have a better idea of just how much star birthing is occurring in the

00:47Milky Way.

00:48And experts say our galaxy is actually producing stellar bodies at a rate of 4-8 times our

00:52Sun's mass every year.

00:54That's twice as much as previously believed, which the paper outlines comes to around 55

00:58billion stars every Earth year.