Figure 9.
The NIFS image in the
K band of one of nine
regions analyzed.
The field measures 3
arcseconds across and
is located about 0.4
pc from the Galactic
center. Symbols
indicate spectral types:
violet triangles (early);
green circles (late);
black x’s (ambiguous);
and a foreground star
(red square).
for their formation in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole or the short time available for them to relocate there after formation elsewhere. New observations, obtained
using the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) with laser and natural guide
star adaptive optics, rule out at least one
formation scenario (infall of a young stellar cluster) and help set the physical scale
(0.5 parsecs (pc) or 1.6 light years) for the
extent of in situ formation.
Morten Støsta