Saturday, April 7, 2007

Cause of Milky Way's Red Hue Identified

Astronomers have known for a long time that our home galaxy, the Milky Way, glows red for some reason. This light is particularly strong in the surroundings of a star called the Red Rectangle. They think they now know the answer. Dust. Actually, scientists say that small clusters of them are played by newly-discovered molecular forces which cause them to glow ruddy. The Red Rectangle (pictured) is supposedly surrounded by these clusters. It is classified as a proto-planetary nebula.

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