molecular clouds

2021年05月02日 Clouds of the Carina Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: John Ebersole Explanation: What forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? The dark ominous figures are actually molecular clouds, knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque. In comparison, however, these clouds are typically much less dense than Earth’s atmosphere. Featured here is a detailed image of the core of the Carina Nebula, a part where both dark and colorful clouds of gas and dust are particularly prominent. The image was captured in mid-2016 from Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Although the nebula is predominantly composed of hydrogen gas — here colored green, the image was assigned colors so that light emitted by trace amounts of sulfur and oxygen…