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A molecular cloud—sometimes called a stellar nursery if star formation is occurring within—is a type of interstellar cloud of which the density and size permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydrogen, H 2), and the formation of H II regions.
One of the richest sources for detecting interstellar molecules is Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2), a giant molecular cloud near the centre of the Milky Way. About half of the molecules listed below were first found in Sgr B2, and many of the others have been subsequently detected there. [10]
The densest molecular clouds have significantly higher pressure than the interstellar average, since they are bound together by their own gravity. When stars form in such clouds, especially OB stars, they convert the surrounding gas into the warm ionized phase, a temperature increase of several hundred.
An interstellar cloud is generally an accumulation of gas, plasma, and dust in our and other galaxies. But differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the interstellar medium, the matter and radiation that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy.
A total of as many as 159 distinct clouds have been identified overall, of which various characteristics such as density, size, and mass are known; in addition, there are seven large H II regions, three supernova remnants, 45 T Tauri stars, 18 molecular jets, and as many as 215 infrared radiation sources, coincident with young stellar objects ...
In general then, molecules are found in cool astrophysical environments. The most massive objects in our galaxy are giant clouds of molecules and dust known as giant molecular clouds. In these clouds, and smaller versions of them, stars and planets are formed. One of the primary fields of study of molecular astrophysics is star and planet ...
The molecular components of this cloud can be readily observed in the 10 2 –10 3 μm range of wavelengths. [2] About half of all the known interstellar molecules were first found near Sgr B2, and nearly every other currently known molecule has since been detected in this feature. [13] The European Space Agency's gamma-ray observatory INTEGRAL has
The Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1) is an interstellar molecular cloud in the constellations Taurus and Auriga. This cloud hosts a stellar nursery containing hundreds of newly formed stars. [ 2 ] The Taurus molecular cloud is only 140 pc (430 ly ) away from Earth, making it possibly the nearest large star formation region .