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reflection nebula

The Taurus Molecular Cloud

June 4, 2019 By Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Images and Video

The dark nebula Barnard 22 and the tiny flame-shaped reflection nebula IC 2087, both part of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Captured at Grand Mesa Observatory in Colorado. Image credit and copyright Terry Hancock and Tom Masterson. Click to enlarge.

Many stargazers are familiar with the giant Orion Molecular Cloud, a vast star-making complex some 1,300 light years away that harbours, among many other celestial objects, the Great Orion Nebula. But there’s a closer, lesser known molecular cloud quietly churning out new stars just 430 light years away towards the constellation Taurus. The Taurus Molecular Cloud, or TMC-1, is smaller and less dense than Orion but it still intrigues professional astronomers.  The complex contains hundreds of solar masses of dust and gas and all sorts of complex organic molecules formed out of the soot of long-dead stars [Read more…] about The Taurus Molecular Cloud

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Tagged With: dark nebula, reflection nebula, taurus

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