One of the best-studied stellar nurseries is in the constellation of Orion, The Hunter, about 1500 light-years away. The pattern of the hunter is easy to recognize by the conspicuous “belt” of three stars that mark his waist. The Orion molecular cloud is much larger than the star pattern and is truly an impressive structure. In its long dimension, it stretches over a distance of about 100 light-years. The total quantity of molecular gas is about 200,000 times the mass of the Sun. Most of the cloud does not glow with visible light but betrays its presence by the radiation that the dusty gas gives off at infrared and radio wavelengths.
The Orion Molecular Cloud
Let’s discuss what happens in regions of star formation by considering a nearby site where stars are forming right now.
Source & attribution
OpenStax contributors · OpenStax, Rice University
CC BY 4.0. Text excerpted; whitespace normalised and empty cross-references removed; learning prompts added. No illustrations reproduced.
Source edition: 2024-10-17T15:19:16Z
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