Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2025

37 MARCH-APRIL 2025 ASTRO PUBLISHING and ALMA, allowed astronomers to study the relation- ship between large- scale molecular cloud structures and the birth of protostars and clus- ters. “Studying YSOs in the LMC gives as- tronomers a front- row seat to witness the birth of stars in a nearby galaxy. For the first time, we can observe individ- ual low-mass proto- stars similar to the Sun forming in small clusters—out- side of our own Milky Way Galaxy” , shares Isha Nayak, lead author of this A composite image created using JWST NIRCam and ALMA data. Light from stars is shown in yellow, while blue and purple represent the dust and gas fueling star formation. [NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/S.Dagnello] research, “We can see with unprece- dented detail extragalactic star for- mation in an environment similar to how some of the first stars formed in the universe.” With this new research, scientists have observed YSOs at various evo- lutionary stages, from very young embedded protostars to more evolved objects ionizing their sur- roundings. This data provides in- sights into the complex chemistry occurring in these stellar nurseries, including the pres- ence of ice, or- ganic molecules, and dust, connect- ing the formation of stars to the broader story of how elements and compounds are d i s t r i b u t e d throughout the universe. These diverse ob- servations deepen astronomers’ un- derstanding of the entire life cycle of massive stars. Nayak adds, “By shedding light on the birth of a su- per star cluster in a nearby galaxy, this research helps us understand the processes that shaped the first stellar clusters and galaxies in our universe and ulti- mately led to our existence.” A n artist impression of young star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Massive and low-mass stars appear within nebulous gas within which they are born. [NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/S.Dagnello] !