This video begins with a wide-field view of the sky, before zooming into the Taurus molecular cloud region, about 450 light-years from Earth. Dark clouds of cosmic dust grains obscure the background stars at visible wavelengths. The submillimetre-wavelength observations from the LABOCA camera on APEX reveal the heat glow of the dust grains, shown here in orange tones. The observations cover two regions in the cloud, which are known as Barnard 211 and Barnard 213. In them, newborn stars are hidden, and dense clouds of gas are on the verge of collapsing to form yet more stars.
This video pans over part of the Taurus molecular cloud region.
The Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1) is an interstellar molecular cloud in the constellations Taurus and Auriga. This cloud hosts a stellar nursery containing hundreds of newly formed stars.[2] The Taurus molecular cloud is only 140 pc (430 ly) away from Earth, making it possibly the nearest large star formation region. It has been important in star formation studies at all wavelengths.[3]
It is notable for containing many complex molecules, such as cyanopolyynes HCnN for n = 3,5,7,9,[4] and cumulene carbenes H2Cn for n = 3–6.[5]
The Taurus molecular cloud was identified in the past as a part of the Gould Belt, a large structure surrounding the solar system. More recently (January 2020) the Taurus molecular cloud was identified as being part of the much larger Radcliffe wave, a wave-shaped structure in the local arm of the Milky Way.
The newly formed stars in this cloud have an age of 1–2 million years.[6] The Taurus–Auriga association, which is the stellar association of the cloud, contains the variable star T Tauri, which is the prototype of T Tauri stars.[7] The many young stars and the close proximity to earth make it uniquely well-suited to search for protoplanetary disks and exoplanets around stars, and to identify brown dwarfs in the association. Members of this region are suited for direct imaging of young exoplanets, which glow brightly in infrared wavelengths.
Members[7][8] of the Taurus–Auriga association with a circumstellar disk or exoplanet:
HL Tauri – directly imaged disk with impressive details
SU Aurigae – circumstellar disk
AB Aurigae – circumstellar disk and hints of an exoplanet
CI Tauri – directly imaged circumstellar disk, one confirmed exoplanet and hints of additional exoplanets
V830 Tauri – circumstellar disk and one exoplanet V830 Tauri b
LkCa 15 – directly imaged circumstellar disk and one possible directly imaged exoplanet LkCa 15 b
GG Tauri – circumstellar disk
UX Tauri – circumstellar disk
DH Tauri – exoplanet DH Tauri b
DG Tauri B – circumstellar disk associated with jets
2M0437b – directly imaged exoplanet
V1298 Tauri – four confirmed transiting exoplanets[9][10]
Main dark nebulae of the Solar apex half of the galactic plane, with the Taurus molecular cloud at the left edge.
^Luhman, K. L.; Allen, P. R.; Espaillat, C.; Hartmann, L.; Calvet, N. (2010). "The Disk Population of the Taurus Star-Forming Region". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 186 (1): 111–174. arXiv:0911.5457. Bibcode:2010ApJS..186..111L. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/186/1/111. ISSN 0067-0049. S2CID 119189843.
^Guedel, M.; Briggs, K. R.; Arzner, K.; et al. (2007). "The XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (XEST)". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 468 (2): 353–377. arXiv:astro-ph/0609160. Bibcode:2007A&A...468..353G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065724. S2CID 8846597.
^Freeman, A.; Millar, T. J. (1983). "Formation of complex molecules in TMC-1". Nature. 301 (5899): 402–404. Bibcode:1983Natur.301..402F. doi:10.1038/301402a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 26107828.
^Cabezas, C.; Tercero, B.; Agúndez, M.; et al. (2021). "Cumulene carbenes in TMC-1: Astronomical discovery of l-H2C5". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 650: L9. arXiv:2106.00635. Bibcode:2021A&A...650L...9C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202141274. ISSN 0004-6361. PMC 7611420. PMID 34334798.
^Kenyon, Scott J.; Hartmann, Lee (November 1995). "Pre-Main-Sequence Evolution in the Taurus–Auriga Molecular Cloud". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 101: 117. Bibcode:1995ApJS..101..117K. doi:10.1086/192235. ISSN 0067-0049.
^ abGagné, Jonathan; Mamajek, Eric E.; Malo, Lison; Riedel, Adric; Rodriguez, David; Lafrenière, David; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Roy-Loubier, Olivier; Pueyo, Laurent; Robin, Annie C.; Doyon, René (March 2018). "BANYAN. XI. The BANYAN Σ Multivariate Bayesian Algorithm to Identify Members of Young Associations with 150 pc". Astrophysical Journal. 856 (1): 23. arXiv:1801.09051. Bibcode:2018ApJ...856...23G. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaae09. ISSN 0004-637X.
^Kwon, Woojin; Looney, Leslie W.; Mundy, Lee G. (October 2011). "Resolving the Circumstellar Disk of Hl Tauri at Millimeter Wavelengths". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (1): 3. arXiv:1107.5275. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741....3K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/1/3. ISSN 0004-637X. S2CID 118525138.
The Taurusmolecularcloud (TMC-1) is an interstellar molecularcloud in the constellations Taurus and Auriga. This cloud hosts a stellar nursery containing...
A molecularcloud, sometimes called a stellar nursery (if star formation is occurring within), is a type of interstellar cloud, the density and size of...
molecularcloud complex (or, simply, the Orion complex) is a star-forming region with stellar ages ranging up to 12 Myr. Two giant molecularclouds are...
the trajectory of the Milky Way arms. It lies at its closest (the TaurusMolecularCloud) at around 400 light-years and at its farthest about 5,000 light-years...
production of H2O in molecular clouds. Studies of •HO distribution in TaurusMolecularCloud-1 (TMC-1) suggest that in dense gas, •HO is mainly formed by dissociative...
quantities. This includes the TaurusMolecularCloud in TMC-1, TMC-1c and L1521B. These are likely in young starless molecularcloud cores. By condensing propadienedithione...
Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecularclouds in interstellar space, sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming...
star-forming regions are the Corona Australis MolecularCloud, the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex and the Taurusmolecularcloud; the latter lies just beyond the Local...
young, nearby stars. These new stars are typically in molecularclouds like the Taurusmolecularcloud and the open star cluster Pleiades. On earth several...
Tauri star in the constellation Taurus, approximately 450 light-years (140 pc) from Earth in the TaurusMolecularCloud. The luminosity and effective temperature...
Telleschi, A. (2007). "The XMM-Newton Optical Monitor survey of the Taurusmolecularcloud". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 468 (2): 379–390. arXiv:astro-ph/0611367...
disks or accretion are Lupus I, Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, Sigma Orionis cluster, Orion Nebula, Taurus, NGC 1333 and IC 348. A large survey of disks...
star-forming regions are the Corona Australis MolecularCloud, the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex and the Taurusmolecularcloud; the latter lies just beyond the Local...
C3O has been detected by its microwave spectrum in the dark cold TaurusMolecularCloud One and also in the protostar Elias 18. The route to produce this...
Superbubble The Scutum Supershell Orion-Eridanus Superbubble The Perseus-Taurus Shell The Local Bubble Henize 70: A SuperBubble In The LMC, Astronomy Picture...
S2CID 85517325. Luhman, K. L. (December 2018). "The Stellar Membership of the Taurus Star-forming Region". The Astronomical Journal. 156 (6): 271. arXiv:1811...
Orion molecularclouds, the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association, Cepheus OB2, Perseus OB2, and the Taurus–Auriga molecularclouds. The Serpens molecular cloud...
orbit. The star is part of the young Taurus-Auriga association, which is located in the TaurusMolecularCloud. The star itself may recently have encountered...
than 40 astronomical units, but three disks in the more distant Taurusmolecularcloud have a radius larger than 70 au and were resolved with ALMA. These...
and the gas clouds that are within nebulae and the confines of dying stars. Species as large as HC 9N were detected in TaurusMolecularCloud 1, where they...
LkCa 15 is a T Tauri star in the TaurusMolecularCloud. These types of stars are relatively young pre-main-sequence stars that show irregular variations...
Auriga about 530 light years away, belonging to the Taurus-Auriga association of the TaurusMolecularCloud. RW Aurigae B was discovered in 1944. The two stars...
flash of light observed from the Moon TMC – (celestial object) TaurusMolecularCloud TMT – (telescope) – Thirty Meter Telescope, formerly known as California...
binary star system in the constellation of Taurus about 434 light-years away, belonging to the TaurusMolecularCloud. The two stars of the HK Tauri system...
constellation of Taurus about 522 light years away, belonging to the TaurusMolecularCloud. It is partially obscured by the foreground gas cloud rich in carbon...
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