A new study has revealed that the Milky Way’s iconic “swan song” cloud, known as the Cygnus-X Star Forming Region, is approaching its end. This is the first time that an end to the star formation process in a large cloud has been observed and it could provide important insights into how stars form and evolve. The research, conducted by astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was published in the journal Nature.

For thousands of years, the Cygnus-X Star Forming Region has been an iconic part of the Milky Way. Located in the constellation Cygnus, the cloud is home to some of the brightest stars in the sky and is responsible for roughly 10 percent of all star formation in the Milky Way. But according to a new study, the star formation process in this region is winding down and the cloud is in its “swan song” phase.

Read Full Article Here

source: Phys.org