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"The rapid development of infrared, millimeter and sub-millimeter
astronomy in the 1970s and 1980s led to the realization that stars
form in the most obscured regions of interstellar space. Fortunately,
the dust which causes the obscuration becomes transparent in the
near infrared waveband and so young stars and their precursors, the
protostars, can be studied uniquely in the infrared waveband. The
process whereby the stars form is not understood and, in particular,
the role of outflows, which are observed wherever protostars or young
stars have been observed, remains a mystery. At 2.2µm, the
Gemini telescopes will have an angular resolution of about 0.1 arcsec,
corresponding to a physical scale of 10 astronomical units at the
distance of the nearest star-forming regions - 1 astronomical unit
(AU) is the distance from the Sun to the Earth. Imaging and
spectroscopy with the new generation of infrared cameras and two-
dimensional spectrographs will provide a completely new view of
the structure and dynamics of these regions."
-Dr. Malcolm S. Longair, Chair of the Gemini Board 1994-1995
How do stars form and what conditions lead to protostellar collapse?
Achievement of Gemini's resolution will permit the study of protostellar
objects down to the scale of the diameter of Jupiter's orbit.
This is an example of a program that will require near-diffraction-limited
imaging at near-infrared wavelengths, where the telescopes will yield
their highest resolution.
Image Credits: 1:NOAO 2:HST
Ruth A. Kneale / web@gemini.edu / February 27, 1998