A paper in Nature Astronomy reveals the discovery of the Eos molecular cloud, located only 300 light-years from Earth, marking it as the closest cloud. This massive cloud, named after the Greek goddess of dawn, possesses a mass 3,400 times that of the Sun. Researchers detected Eos using ultraviolet emissions, a groundbreaking method since the cloud lacks sufficient carbon monoxide, which is typically used to identify such formations. This finding opens new avenues for understanding molecular clouds and their potential for star formation.
This thing was pretty much in our cosmic backyard, and we've just missed it, says astrophysicist and study coauthor Thomas Haworth in an interview with CNN.
This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly, says lead study author Dr. Blakesley Burkhart.
The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet. This cloud is literally glowing in the dark.
Molecular clouds are usually detected by tracking light emitted by their carbon monoxide content.
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