The SOFIA legacy project FEEDBACK

FEEDBACK is a SOFIA legacy project using the upGREAT heterodyne receiver on SOFIA to map the [C II] 158 micron line and the [O I] 63 micron line in Galactic molecular clouds. Around 100 h observing time were granted to observe 11 Galactic massive star-forming regions. Observations started in 2019 and were completed in 2022.

Our objective is to study the impact of radiation and winds of massive stars on the interstellar medium. More information on FEEDBACK is found at

Cologne page of FEEDBACK
Maryland webpage of FEEDBACK

3D Position-velocity plots for RCW120

These interactive images show the [C II] (ionized carbon) and CO (carbon monoxide molecule) emission of the interstellar bubble RCW120 in spatial and velocity space. The x- and y-axis are the coordinates in units of pixels, the z-axis is the velocity (units are in channels, where channel 15 corresponds to −10 km/s).

The ring structure is well visible in [C II], but in addition we observe an expanding bubble in emission of ionized carbon, indicated by the large velocity extent of emission along the z-axis. The ring structure is also well visible in CO, but there is no indication of an expanding bubble in CO. The extended local velocity feature seen in the map originates from a protostellar source with a CO outflow.

[C II] data set of RCW120
12CO 3–2 data set of RCW120

3D Position-velocity plots for RCW79

CO 3-2
[C II] 158 micron

Position-velocity plots in CII at 158 micron for the compact H II Region in RCW79

Horizontal PV cuts
Vertical PV cuts
Inclined PV cuts
Rotating PV cuts

Movies of overlays of different tracers for the compact H II region RCW79

Spitzer 8 micron and [C II] 158 micron
Herschel 70 micron and [C II] 158 micron
Herschel column density and [C II] 158 micron
Channel maps [C II] 158 micron and CO 3–2
Movie: [C II] and CO 3–2 spectra across the compact H II region