A team of astronomers from the University of Florida, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, and Cambridge University have identified one of the earliest known structures ever to form in the universe. For details, read UF News . For pictures, see JPL Picture Archives . O SCIR, the infrared camera designed and built by Charlie Telesco and his team, was used by UF and Harvard astronomers to discover a disk of dust around a young, nearby star in which planets may now be forming. This discovery made the cover of Newsweek in May 1998 and was the first big payoff of the new strategy.
Astronomers discover a dust disk surrounding a nearby star.
The temperature is in turn a measure of the star's evolutionary state and its chemical composition. All of this means that the colors of stars can be used to study the formation, evolution, and chemical enrichment properties of both the stars and the galaxies in which they reside. The most popular theory for the formation of galaxies such as the Milky Way involves a gradual build up achieved by tearing, shredding and assimilating much smaller dwarf galaxies. This 'accretion' picture of galaxy formation has recently received dramatic support by the discovery of a dwarf galaxy that is apparently in the process of being cannibalized by the Milky Way. Sarajedini's projects will involve the students at the highest levels and expose them to the scientific method as well as honing their problem-solving skills.