Overview
- ALMA’s ACES survey mapped more than 650 light-years of cold, dense gas filaments in the Central Molecular Zone around the Milky Way’s black hole.
- The observations reveal fine-scale physical and chemical variations by tracing radio emission from different molecules across the region.
- Scientists detected dozens of species, including complex organics such as methanol, acetone and ethanol, enabling an unprecedented chemical inventory.
- The survey scanned a sky area about the size of three full Moons to produce ALMA’s largest mosaic, exposing unexpectedly intricate structure.
- Early analyses indicate the gas is so energetic that stars form only where it compresses on very small scales, creating tight clusters that could hinder planet formation; results appear in five papers accepted by MNRAS as teams plan targeted tests of star-formation models.