We can observe numerous of these molecular clouds in our local neighborhood of the Milky Way. The most well-known one is the Orion nebula, which is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, but there are other well-known molecular clouds, such as the molecular clouds of Perseus and Taurus. We can see stars forming within these clouds.
One part of the story we do not completely comprehend is how these dense molecular clouds form in the very first place. Considering that they are often found along spiral arms, one concept is that they form within pressure waves along the arms as stars lot up like a traffic congestion. Another idea is that their development is set off by supernovae. These massive surges produce shockwaves in interstellar gas and dust, triggering them to bunch together. Proving this concept is hard due to the fact that its very hard to pin down the place of a molecular cloud. We can see where it is in the sky, however figuring out the range is hard. However a new research study has determined the places of the Perseus and Taurus clouds, and the outcome supports the supernova design.
A bubble exists in between the Taurus molecular cloud (blue) and the Perseus molecular cloud (red). Credit: Jasen Lux Chambers/Center for Astrophysics|Harvard & & Smithsonian
Utilizing data from the Gaia spacecraft, the team was able to map the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds in 3-D. They also mapped other, fainter clouds in the region, and discovered they were all part of a single structure. The clouds we see now, and the stars forming within them, are the outcome of supernova shock waves.
This work shows that supernovae can play a substantial role in the formation of stars, beyond their contribution of heavier aspects. With 3-D maps such as this one, we can now compare them to simulation designs to much better understand both cloud formation and star development.
Reference: Bialy, Shmuel, et al. “The Per-Tau Shell: A Giant Star-forming Spherical Shell Revealed by 3D Dust Observations.” The Astrophysical Journal Letters 919.1 (2021 ): L5.
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The most popular one is the Orion nebula, which is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, however there are other well-known molecular clouds, such as the molecular clouds of Perseus and Taurus. A bubble exists in between the Taurus molecular cloud (blue) and the Perseus molecular cloud (red). The clouds we see now, and the stars forming within them, are the outcome of supernova shock waves.
We know, for example, that stars do not form separately, however rather are born within large interstellar molecular clouds. In spiral galaxies, these molecular clouds are most typically discovered within spiral arms, which is why stars are most often born in spiral arms.
Star formation is a topic astronomers are still trying to totally understand. We understand, for instance, that stars do not form separately, but rather are born within huge interstellar molecular clouds. These excellent nurseries include gas dense enough for gravity to trigger the development of stars. In spiral nebula, these molecular clouds are most frequently found within spiral arms, which is why stars are most frequently born in spiral arms.
