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Time of India
08-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Astronomers discover giant star-forming cloud, 5,000 times larger than the Sun, near our solar system
A Rutgers University research team in New Jersey spotted the newly found cloud, which was named Eos—after the Greek deity of dawn. Being only 300 light-years away, it is the closest known big molecular cloud. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Molecular clouds are huge, cold reservoirs of gas and dust that cradle new stars. What distinguishes Eos is not only its closeness but also its position: it lies on the outer rim of a strange structure called the Local Bubble—a hot, low-density cavity in space that envelops the Sun and a few nearby stars. Although it looks no more than roughly 40 full moons across in the evening sky, Eos is physically tens of light-years across. It has a weight greater than 5,000 times the Sun's weight and is, thus, gigantic. All of this would lead one to expect it would be a rich star-forming region—but curiously enough, it contains no evidence of recent star formation. Why Eos remained undetected in previous sky surveys Eos was elusive in earlier sky surveys for a straightforward reason: it does not have one of the most important indicators scientists typically search for—carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a tracer molecule that scientists commonly use to find and chart molecular clouds since it produces easily identifiable signals in the infrared and radio regions of the spectrum. But Eos is unusually lacking in CO, and so is essentially invisible to conventional detection techniques. This has prompted scientists to wonder whether there may be many more clouds like this waiting to be discovered, simply because they lack the molecular "fingerprints" to be detected by previous surveys. Eos could be an intermediate stage in a cloud's life—possibly too young to have been mature enough to form stars or perhaps just too old, with most of its star-forming material dispersed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now How Eos was discovered using ultraviolet light instead of traditional methods The real breakthrough of the discovery of Eos lies in the method used to detect it. Instead of relying on traditional CO-tracing methods, the scientists employed ultraviolet (UV) light to identify the cloud. From South Korea's STSAT-1 satellite, which carries the FIMS-SPEAR spectrograph, they identified a far-ultraviolet glow given off by hydrogen molecules in the cloud. This is the first time a molecular cloud has been detected by far-UV emission. Hydrogen is the most common element in molecular clouds, but its far-UV signal is typically weak and difficult to detect. The success of this technique could provide an entirely new means of hunting for hidden clouds, especially those without the usual markers such as carbon monoxide. How Eos helps scientists understand the conditions for star birth Eos' discovery is not just a curiosity—it's a milestone. Because it's comparatively near the Earth, Eos presents astronomers with a special chance to investigate the early and late phases of molecular cloud life at close proximity. Although presently no active star formation is observable in it, its dense and cold environment could be an important clue to understanding what conditions precipitate star birth—or suppress it. In a statement from Rutgers University, according to Professor Blakesley Burkhart, this discovery might open the way for countless additional detections of comparable clouds employing ultraviolet technology. It also stimulates astronomers to reassess suppositions regarding the ways and locations of star births within our galaxy. NASA mission named after Eos aims to chart far-ultraviolet radiation The research team now suggests a new space mission by the name of Eos, which is after the cloud. If NASA accepts this mission, it would be aimed at charting far-ultraviolet radiation across the Milky Way to aid astronomers in identifying more molecular clouds that have eluded detection because they do not emit CO. This mission has the potential to transform our knowledge of the interstellar medium, the enormous gap between stars that is packed with gas, dust, and magnetic fields. By charting UV emissions on a galactic scale, scientists expect to gain new insights into how molecular clouds such as Eos form, evolve, and give rise to stars and planetary systems. Also Read |
Scientific American
30-04-2025
- Science
- Scientific American
Giant, Glowing Gas Cloud Discovered Just 300 Light-Years Away
The surprise discovery of a huge cloud of molecular gas — the stuff that forms stars — just 300 light-years away is opening up new ways to study the conditions that enable star birth. Stars form from collapsing clouds of molecular gas. We see this in the likes of the Orion Nebula, which gets energized by hot ultraviolet radiation of the young stars born within. However, finding molecular clouds before they begin producing stars is more difficult. Such clouds are predominantly made from molecular hydrogen gas, which, when it isn't being energized by starlight, is very faint — almost invisible. (Atomic hydrogen, on the other hand, is easily detectable by radio telescopes). Astronomers usually use radio telescopes to detect carbon monoxide, which is available in much lower quantities in molecular clouds, as a proxy. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. But what about the clouds without much carbon monoxide? Astronomers led by Blakesley Burkhart of Rutgers University–New Brunswick in New Jersey and Thavisha Dharmawardena of New York University, have pioneered an entirely new way of seeing the invisible. Using far-ultraviolet data from the Korean STSAT-1 satellite, they directly detected molecules of hydrogen fluorescing. "This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far-ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly," Burkhart said in a statement. "This cloud is literally glowing in the dark." The cloud is roughly crescent-shaped and sits on the edge of the Local Bubble, which is a volume of space where the interstellar medium is more rarefied than its surroundings, perhaps having been emptied by the shockwaves of hundreds of ancient supernovas. The sun and our solar system are passing through the Local Bubble, and have been doing so for the past five million years or so. The cloud, named Eos after the goddess of Greek mythology who signified the dawn, contains approximately 3,400 solar masses worth of gas. It's also depleted in carbon monoxide, which is why it had gone undetected by conventional means. Eos is predicted to disperse, or photodissociate, as a result of background photons impacting the cloud's molecules, in about 5.7 million years' time. This is too soon for it to begin forming stars, unless there is some other trigger that advances things, such as the gravitational disturbance of another passing cloud. Intriguingly, the average star-formation rate in our sun's neighborhood has been calculated at 200 solar masses per million years. Eos is losing mass to the wider interstellar medium at a rate of 600 solar masses per million years, three times the rate at which molecular gas is converted into stars. Therefore, this dispersion of molecular clouds as a result of photodissociation from light emitted by nearby stars seems to act as a feedback mechanism to regulate the rate of star formation, Burkhart's team believes. This is useful information for telling us more about the conditions needed to enable star formation in other, more distant clouds. "When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we don't know in detail how that happens," said Burkhart. "Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets." And the discovery of other, similar clouds could be just on the horizon. "The use of the far-ultraviolet fluorescence emission technique could rewrite our understanding of the interstellar medium, uncovering hidden clouds across the galaxy and even out to the furthest detectable limits of cosmic dawn," said Dharmawardena. Eos may not see the dawn of new stars, but its existence is testament to a greater dawn, going all the way back to near the beginning of the universe, in which stars have brought daylight to a dark cosmos. The findings were published on April 28 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Intrigued by Glowing Cloud Near Our Solar System
Scientists have discovered a gigantic, glowing gas of hydrogen gas lurking just 300 light-years away. As detailed in a paper to be published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the international team of researchers spotted the crescent-shaped gas cloud, dubbed Eos, on the edge of the Local Bubble, an enormous cavity that encompasses our entire solar system. The team discovered the cloud by scanning the skies for ultraviolet emissions of molecular hydrogen, the first implementation of such a technique, which they conducted using the far-ultraviolet spectrograph attached to the South Korean satellite STSAT-1. Conventionally, researchers use radio or infrared observatories to pick up the chemical signatures. "The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet," said Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences associate professor and team lead Blakesley Burkhart in a statement. "This cloud is literally glowing in the dark." The researchers are hoping the discovery could allow them to better understand the interstellar medium, the space between stars, and how molecular clouds of gas eventually go on to form new stars. "When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we don't know in detail how that happens," Burkhart explained. "Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets." Eos itself has a mass of roughly 3,400 times that of the Sun, and it could take six million years to evaporate. "The story of the cosmos is a story of the rearrangement of atoms over billions of years," Burkhart explained. "The hydrogen in Eos has been traveling for 13.6 billion years since the Big Bang." The cloud eluded scientists for so long because it doesn't emit the usual mix of carbon monoxide gases that have previously been picked up in radio and infrared observations. Meanwhile, Burkhart and her colleagues are excited about spotting far more distant clouds of hydrogen with the help of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. As detailed in a draft paper, the team believes that "we may have found the very furthest hydrogen molecules from the Sun," Burkhart explained in the statement. "So, we have found both some of the closest and farthest using far-ultraviolet emission," she added. More on molecular clouds: Scientists Detect "Strange Filaments" at the Heart of Our Galaxy
India Today
29-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
Mysterious structure the size of 40 moons discovered close to Solar System
A mysterious structure has been discovered close to the Solar System as scientists rush to investigate its origin and evolution. The structure appears to be a star-forming region and is one of the largest single structures in the team of astronomers led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick mentioned that it is among the closest to the sun and Earth ever to be have named the molecular hydrogen cloud 'Eos,' after the Greek goddess of mythology who is the personification of dawn. The details of the findings, published in the journal Nature, state that the structure long invisible, appears to be a vast ball of hydrogen. The finding marks the first time a molecular cloud has been detected with light emitted in the far-ultraviolet realm of the electromagnetic spectrum and opens the way to further explorations using the approach. Artist's conception of what the Eos molecular cloud would look like in the sky if it were visible to the naked eye. (Photo: Rutgers) advertisement"This opens up new possibilities for studying the molecular universe. This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly. The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet. This cloud is literally glowing in the dark,' Blakesley Burkhart, lead author of the paper maintained that Eos poses no danger to Earth and the solar system. Because of its proximity, the gas cloud presents a unique opportunity to study the properties of a structure within the interstellar medium, scientists clouds are composed of gas and dust – with the most common molecule being hydrogen, the fundamental building block of stars and planets and essential for life. They also contain other molecules such as carbon monoxide.'When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we don't know in detail how that happens. Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets,' Burkhart crescent-shaped gas cloud is located about 300 light years away from Earth. It sits on the edge of the Local Bubble, a large gas-filled cavity in space that encompasses the solar system. advertisementIt measures about 40 moons across the sky, with a mass about 3,400 times that of the sun. The team used models to show it is expected to evaporate in 6 million years.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists find giant, hidden gas cloud only 300 light-years away: 'This cloud is literally glowing in the dark'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The surprise discovery of a huge cloud of molecular gas — the stuff that forms stars — just 300 light-years away is opening up new ways to study the conditions that enable star birth. Stars form from collapsing clouds of molecular gas. We see this in the likes of the Orion Nebula, which gets energized by hot ultraviolet radiation of the young stars born within. However, finding molecular clouds before they begin producing stars is more difficult. Such clouds are predominantly made from molecular hydrogen gas, which, when it isn't being energized by starlight, is very faint — almost invisible. (Atomic hydrogen, on the other hand, is easily detectable by radio telescopes). Astronomers usually use radio telescopes to detect carbon monoxide, which is available in much lower quantities in molecular clouds, as a proxy. But what about the clouds without much carbon monoxide? Astronomers led by Blakesley Burkhart of Rutgers University–New Brunswick in New Jersey and Thavisha Dharmawardena of New York University, have pioneered an entirely new way of seeing the invisible. Using far-ultraviolet data from the Korean STSAT-1 satellite, they directly detected molecules of hydrogen fluorescing. "This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far-ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly," Burkhart said in a statement. "This cloud is literally glowing in the dark." The cloud is roughly crescent-shaped and sits on the edge of the Local Bubble, which is a volume of space where the interstellar medium is more rarefied than its surroundings, perhaps having been emptied by the shockwaves of hundreds of ancient supernovas. The sun and our solar system are passing through the Local Bubble, and have been doing so for the past five million years or so. The cloud, named Eos after the goddess of Greek mythology who signified the dawn, contains approximately 3,400 solar masses worth of gas. It's also depleted in carbon monoxide, which is why it had gone undetected by conventional means. Eos is predicted to disperse, or photodissociate, as a result of background photons impacting the cloud's molecules, in about 5.7 million years' time. This is too soon for it to begin forming stars, unless there is some other trigger that advances things, such as the gravitational disturbance of another passing cloud. Intriguingly, the average star-formation rate in our sun's neighborhood has been calculated at 200 solar masses per million years. Eos is losing mass to the wider interstellar medium at a rate of 600 solar masses per million years, three times the rate at which molecular gas is converted into stars. Therefore, this dispersion of molecular clouds as a result of photodissociation from light emitted by nearby stars seems to act as a feedback mechanism to regulate the rate of star formation, Burkhart's team believes. This is useful information for telling us more about the conditions needed to enable star formation in other, more distant clouds. "When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we don't know in detail how that happens," said Burkhart. "Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets." Related Stories: — 3D map reveals our solar system's local bubble has an 'escape tunnel' — Scientists discover super-Earth exoplanets are more common in the universe than we thought — The sun might be spitting out particles that create water on the moon And the discovery of other, similar clouds could be just on the horizon. "The use of the far-ultraviolet fluorescence emission technique could rewrite our understanding of the interstellar medium, uncovering hidden clouds across the galaxy and even out to the furthest detectable limits of cosmic dawn," said Dharmawardena. Eos may not see the dawn of new stars, but its existence is testament to a greater dawn, going all the way back to near the beginning of the universe, in which stars have brought daylight to a dark cosmos. The findings were published on April 28 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
