Space Agency NASA and the U.S. national science Foundation December 25, on the South Pole of the planet with the help of a balloon with hot helium LDB (Long Duration Balloon) has launched an unusual telescope that will explore submillimeter electromagnetic wave range and to study star formation in our galaxy.

The launch of the telescope BLAST or Baloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope was held with the us Antarctic base Makmyordo. The current start BLAST is the fifth and last of the planned within this project. In the framework of the start-up of BLAST will study the processes of birth of stars in the milky Way. The telescope will have to answer the question why in all the galaxies, stars are born with different speeds and why in our galaxy they are born so slowly.

Mark Devlin, senior research supervisor of the project and astronomer from the University of Pennsylvania, said that the Antarctic for the implementation of the project was chosen not by chance. First, there are no powerful sources of radiation, preventing telescope, secondly to fly over the White continent absolutely free, and thirdly, here all the time cold that allows you to maintain a low temperature design of the telescope. Of course, the sensors telescope necessary for such low temperatures that even the South pole unable to provide. But the liquid helium may - before the start of the sensors were chilled to super-low temperature, which is only 0.3 degrees above absolute zero.

Such a low temperature necessary for the telescope to the gas-dust clouds, the temperature falls below minus 200 degrees, were from the point of view of the device "warm".

The first flight of devices of the BLAST took place in 2003 in the state of new Mexico, then in 2005 in Sweden, and since 2006 they fly over the Antarctic. Scientists say that the sensors of the telescope can be considered proto-stellar gas-dust cloud and to investigate the processes taking place in them. To work BLAST can not only within the boundaries of the milky Way, but much further. He is able to look into the galaxy, remote from us 7 billion light-years.

Researchers say that now it is known that a large part of the Universe and matter in it was created in the first 5 billion years after the Big Bang, then the process of formation slowed down considerably. For some reason unknown.

Experts believe that one of the most probable reasons for this is the decrease in the total density of matter in the Universe. But at the same time, even in our galaxy is the so-called dark core, where for unclear reasons, the formation of stars comes with unusually high speeds. In General, however, the milky Way generates new stars slowly enough, scientists say.

Astronomers say that the simple process of reducing the density of the substance slow birth of stars cannot be explained. Most likely, here there are many uncertain factors. Identifying these factors and will deal with the fifth BLAST.