Scientists Discover Massive Molecular Cloud Close To Earth (cnn.com)
- Reference: 0177252697
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/05/02/0515209/scientists-discover-massive-molecular-cloud-close-to-earth
- Source link: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/28/science/molecular-cloud-discovery
> Named Eos after the Greek goddess of the dawn, the cloud of gas would appear huge in the night sky if visible to the naked eye. It measures roughly 40 moons in width and has a weight about 3,400 times the mass of the sun, researchers [2]reported in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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> "In astronomy, seeing the previously unseen usually means peering deeper with ever more sensitive telescopes -- detecting those smaller planets ... those more distant galaxies," said study coauthor Thomas Haworth, an astrophysicist at Queen Mary University of London. "This thing was pretty much in our cosmic backyard, and we've just missed it," he added. Molecular clouds are composed of gas and dust from which hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules can form. Dense clumps within these clouds can collapse to form young stars.
The article clarifies that Eos is 300 light-years away, which to be sure, is closer than any of the molecular clouds that we've known about previously.
[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/28/science/molecular-cloud-discovery
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02541-7
not adding up (Score:1)
How can it weigh 34000 times the mass of the sun in an area only 40 moons wide, and not be star or black whole? something doesn't add up. :)
Re: (Score:2)
Imagine how big it is if it's 300 light years away and takes up an area of our sky that's the same width as if you put the moon beside itself (in the sky) 40 times. It's just an area of space with a very thin amount of material in it (probably mostly hydrogen). But it's such a large area that if you added it all up, there's 3400 solar masses of material.
Re: not adding up (Score:2)
How is it also close to earth if it's not located in our solar system?
Re: (Score:2)
> How is it also close to earth if it's not located in our solar system?
You had time to submit this question, but not to read the summary?
Re: You had time to submit this question (Score:2)
Welcome to the intertubes!
Re:not adding up (Score:4, Insightful)
40 moons wide as viewed from Earth . The structure itself is not 40 moons wide.
gee something is missing (Score:2)
Dark ...
this space intentionally left blank
Re: gee something is missing (Score:2)
I'm still unhappy that show got cancelled.
Re: (Score:2)
> I'm still unhappy that show got cancelled.
I've all but given up on new shows, and I know I'm not the only one. These days, I'm more likely to not even start watching a new show until it's at least in its second season for two reasons. First, a disproportionate percentage of the shows get cancelled, so why bother investing the effort into watching it just to be annoyed? Second, much of the new cinema model seems to be to do maybe 8-10 shows a season, wait two years, and then roll out another 8-10 shows. For example, [1]Stranger Things [imdb.com]. That show's four
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4574334/episodes/
Let's hope it doesn't move (Score:2)
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cloud
Re: (Score:2)
I think modern astronomical observations have pretty much disproved most of Fred Hoyle's theories
The Greek Goddess, Cloud of Gas. (Score:2)
How majestic.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a Mutara class, so shields would be useless.
Space Snot (Score:2)
I think it's space snot from a sick black hole that sneezed out some dark matter. We need some space-sized fingers to roll it into a ball and flick it across the universe.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like you're describing The Great Green Arkleseizure, which in turn awaits the coming of the Great White Handkerchief.
What a tease (Score:3)
What a tease. The cloud is "close to Earth", "40 moons in width".
Oh, it's 300 light-years away.
Re: (Score:2)
and "an invisible ... cloud that could shed light"
Re: (Score:2)
So it was out of focus? They looked right through it.
A weight about 3,400 times the mass of the sun (Score:1)
Jeez