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Taurus Molecular Cloud

Taurus Molecular Cloud


Date: 28 May 2015
Satellite: Herschel
Depicts: Taurus Molecular Cloud
Copyright: ESA/Herschel/PACS, SPIRE/Gould Belt survey Key Programme/Palmeirim et al. 2013

This three-colour image of the B211/B213 filament in the Taurus Molecular Cloud combines Herschel bands at 160 μm (blue), 250 μm (green) and 500 μm (red). The image spans about 2×5 degrees.

Taurus is a star-forming region about 450 light-years away. This image shows the glow of cosmic dust in the interstellar material that pervades the cloud, revealing an intricate pattern of filaments dotted with a few compact, bright cores: the seeds of future stars. The B211/B213 filament is an example of how the material along filaments is not at all static: astronomers have detected what appear to be accretion flows, with the most prominent filaments drawing matter from their surroundings through a network of smaller filaments, or 'striations', perpendicular to the main filament.

 

Last Update: 1 September 2019
8-Dec-2024 22:03 UT

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