Knowra Interstellar cloud Interstellar cloud An interstellar cloud is a concentration of gas and dust between stars. Depending on its density and temperature, it can obscure starlight or collapse to form stars.
Interstellar medium : The matter and radiation occupying the space between stars in a galaxy. Interstellar clouds are denser concentrations within this broader galactic environment.
Molecular cloud : A cold, dense interstellar cloud in which much of the gas is molecular. These clouds contain the dense, shielded regions where most stars form.
21-centimeter line : Radio emission produced by the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen, at a wavelength of about 21 centimeters. Its signal maps atomic hydrogen in clouds that may be inconspicuous in visible light.
Orion Molecular Cloud : A nearby complex of molecular gas and star-forming regions in the constellation Orion. It is a prominent example of a cloud complex actively producing stars.
Star formation : The process by which dense regions of interstellar gas collapse to produce stars. Cloud collapse supplies the material from which new stars form.
Hydrogen : The chemical element with atomic number one, found in atomic, molecular, and ionized forms throughout space. Hydrogen makes up most of the gas in typical interstellar clouds.
H II region : A region of ionized hydrogen around hot stars that emit abundant ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet light from young massive stars ionizes and reshapes nearby cloud gas.
Carbon monoxide : A molecule of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom, widely used to trace molecular gas in space. Its radio emission provides a practical way to estimate molecular cloud locations and masses.
Taurus Molecular Cloud : A nearby, relatively quiet molecular cloud complex in the constellation Taurus. Its low-mass star formation contrasts with more active massive-star-forming regions.
Stellar feedback : The effects of radiation, winds, and explosions from stars on surrounding gas and dust. New stars can heat, disperse, or compress the clouds that formed them.
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