La'Mya Vocab Crossword

3. A theory explaining that spiral arms are not fixed structures but rather waves of high density (compression) that move through the galactic disk, triggering star formation as gas passes through them.
6. Using astrophysical masers (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)—which are intense, naturally occurring radio sources—to map the structure of the galaxy and track star-forming regions
8. A large, spherical region surrounding the disk and bulge, containing old stars, globular clusters, and substantial dark matter.
10. A late-stage, luminous, cool star with a large radius, often found in globular clusters
13. A dense, roughly spherical group of tens of thousands to millions of old Population II stars, found primarily in the halo.
14. Young, blue, metal-rich stars (like our Sun) located in the disk and spiral arms.
15. A dense, opaque cloud of dust that obscures light from stars or brighter nebulae behind it, appearing as a dark patch

1. A cloud of dust that scatters/reflects light from nearby stars, often appearing blue
2. Hypothesized first generation of stars formed after the Big Bang, containing no "metals" (elements heavier than helium), which have not yet been directly observed.
4. The area of the sky obscured by the dust and stars of the Milky Way's disk, which prevents clear optical observation of extragalactic objects behind it.
5. A cloud of ionized gas (primarily hydrogen) that emits its own light, appearing reddish-pink; these are often stellar nurseries
7. A tightly packed, football-shaped spheroid of mostly old Population II stars located at the center of the galaxy.
9. The flat, rotating component of the Milky Way, roughly 100,000 light-years across and 1,000 light-years thick, containing gas, dust, and young Population I stars.
11. A loosely bound, young grouping of hundreds or thousands of stars found in the galactic disk, often associated with emission nebulae.
12. Old, red, metal-poor stars found in the halo and bulge.