The central region of our galaxy is not, or at least it was believed until now, the most suitable place for new stars to be born. The influence of Sagittarius A*, the large black hole of four million solar masses that resides in the galactic core, in effect makes the entire surrounding region prey to frenetic activity. Too much, in fact, to allow the "quiet" condensation of material that is needed in the large gas clouds where most stars are born. Specifically, astronomers were more than convinced that within the innermost 1,000 light-years of the core, a region known as the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), star formation was virtually... See more
