By Nola Wilkinson
Ever wondered what there is between the stars? Dr Naomi McClure-Griffiths not only wonders about it, she’s on a mission to find out.
Naomi is fascinated with the life of stars, the behaviour of interstellar gas, and how gas and stars interact. “As an astronomer, I’d like to understand how the galaxy formed and how it’s living its life,” she says.
Naomi has conducted a massive survey of all the hydrogen gas in and around in the Milky Way. In doing so, she has shown that the stuff between the stars is actually foamy.
“The galaxy is much more frothy and bubbly than we ever thought. It looks like the head on a glass of beer.”
Very large stars, 8-20 times the size of our sun, experience dramatic supernova explosions that push gas out of the galaxy via solar winds travelling at up to 1000 kilometres a second.
It is these solar winds that blow bubbles in the gas between the stars, creating a frothy, foamy appearance.
Watch this video to find out more about Naomi and her amazing work:
Naomi’s team undertook the Galactic All Sky Survey using our Parkes telescope and is planning future work using our ASKAP radio telescope.