Stellar nurseries are vast clouds of gas and dust in which new stars can form under the gravitational influence of denser areas known as “clumps”. Although false-colour photographs and concept art of stellar nurseries are familiar images in popular science, Professor Nia Imara was interested in creating stellar nursery models which captured the complex structural detail of these formations.
Imara made the models using data from simulations of star-forming clouds and a sophisticated 3D printing process in which the fine-scale densities and gradients of the clouds are embedded within a transparent resin. The resulting models are smooth, polished spheres around 8cm in diameter, in which the clouds appear as delicate, swirling clumps and filaments.
“We wanted an interactive object to help us visualise those structures where stars form so we can better understand the physical processes,” said Imara.
Imara, who is an accomplished self-taught artist as well...