Does a Distant Galaxy Show Star Formation?

Some scientists refer to certain dust and debris clouds in galaxies as star “incubators” because they think stars form naturally within them. But since the formation of a star from a compacted cloud would take far too long to observe even in many lifetimes, many references to stellar nurseries rely on circumstantial evidence and naturalistic reasoning. Do stars form from gas, and if so, could all known stars have formed this way?

There are a great many sizes, shapes, and contents of luminescent objects in outer space, including barely glowing hot-gas clouds and intensely burning solar-system-size stars. Astronomers recently studied a serendipitously magnified distant galaxy and noted what they deemed to be “intense star formation.” The light in transit from the galaxy was warped by another galaxy in between it and earth, making the distant image appear 32 times larger due to gravitational lensing.

'Cyclothon' held in Chennai for public awareness on global warming

Over 600 cycling enthusiasts including IT professionals and school students took part in 'Cyclothon', a rally of cyclists at Chennai on Saturday organized to spread awareness on global warming.

Interestingly the participation by women numbered around 200 in this 10 kilometres long rally named 'Ride-a-thon-10'.

The bicycle rally was hosted by HCL, one of India's major computer companies, was flagged off by Tamil Nadu Information and Technology Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna.

The participants opined that they were excited as the day also coincides with Earth Hour.

"Today it's a special day for us because today is the Earth Hour and it coincides with our HCL 'Ride-a-thon-10'. We are the warriors for the Earth. So we have come on the Marina Beach here in Chennai to spread awareness about how to prevent global warming for the entire world," said Rahul, coordinator of HCL Cyclothon.

Besides global warming, the participants also spread awareness on HIV AIDS, traffic rules, animal welfare and organ donation.

Apart from HCL other corporate and voluntary bodies, which took part in the rally, were Chennai Transport Corporation, Chennai Traffic Police, Green Peace, Blue Cross and Red Cross Society.

Earth Hour is a concept initiated by the World Wide Fund for Wild Life Conservation (WWF) and is observed annually by almost all the major cities around the world on the last Saturday of March as a medium to pledge support for protecting the environment.

The Earth Hour is to be observed on March 27 between 8.30-9.30 p.m (IST).

Reportedly, at least 15 cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, have pledged their support to the campaign in India.

As per WWF, about five million people in India last year switched off lights and electrical appliances during Earth Hour in 2009.