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Astronomy Picture of the Day
Molecular Cloud Barnard 68
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#60913
by
[z]Barbara Harris
@
20.12.2004 00:00
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Molecular Cloud Barnard 68
Explanation:
Where did all the stars go?
What used to be considered a hole in the sky
is now known to astronomers as a dark
molecular cloud
.
Here, a high concentration of
dust
and
molecular gas
absorb practically all the visible light
emitted from background stars.
The eerily dark surroundings help make the interiors of
molecular clouds
some of the coldest
and most isolated places in the universe.
One of the most notable of these
dark absorption nebulae
is a cloud toward the constellation
Ophiuchus
known as Barnard 68,
pictured above
.
That no stars are visible in the center indicates that
Barnard
68 is relatively nearby,
with measurements placing it about
500 light-years away and half a
light-year
across.
It is not known exactly how
molecular clouds
like
Barnard 68
form, but it is known that these clouds are themselves
likely places
for
new stars to form
.
It is possible to
look right through
the cloud in
infrared
light.
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