Bridging Low- and High-Mass Star Formation with an Expanded Yellowball Catalog
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Kathryn Devine (Mentor), College of Idaho
Abstract
Understanding star formation is critical to understanding the evolution and history of galaxies and, by extension, how our universe came to be the way it is. “Yellowballs,” or YBs, are sites of star formation in our Milky Way Galaxy. They were first identified by volunteers participating in the citizen-science Milky Way Project, who gave YBs their whimsical name based on their round, yellow appearance in infrared images. Previous studies, including a pilot study of approximately 500 YBs, concluded that YBs contain young star forming clusters spanning a large range of mass and luminosity. This makes the YBs particularly interesting because they bridge intermediate- to high-mass star formation. Studying these regions thus can help us understand the physical conditions that lead clusters to form high-mass stars. I have simplified and updated Python codes that will be used to expand the pilot region work to a new YB catalog of over 6000 sources. I have developed methods to utilize measurements done by many users into a single database that will be a significant component of the updated catalog. The final catalog will report YB infrared colors, distances, and sizes.
Bridging Low- and High-Mass Star Formation with an Expanded Yellowball Catalog
Understanding star formation is critical to understanding the evolution and history of galaxies and, by extension, how our universe came to be the way it is. “Yellowballs,” or YBs, are sites of star formation in our Milky Way Galaxy. They were first identified by volunteers participating in the citizen-science Milky Way Project, who gave YBs their whimsical name based on their round, yellow appearance in infrared images. Previous studies, including a pilot study of approximately 500 YBs, concluded that YBs contain young star forming clusters spanning a large range of mass and luminosity. This makes the YBs particularly interesting because they bridge intermediate- to high-mass star formation. Studying these regions thus can help us understand the physical conditions that lead clusters to form high-mass stars. I have simplified and updated Python codes that will be used to expand the pilot region work to a new YB catalog of over 6000 sources. I have developed methods to utilize measurements done by many users into a single database that will be a significant component of the updated catalog. The final catalog will report YB infrared colors, distances, and sizes.