Tag Archive for 'Taurus Molecular Cloud'

This Hubble image shows GN 04.32.8, a reflection nebula some 480 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus. The color composite was assembled from images taken in visible and near-infrared light. It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / G. Duchêne.

Hubble Spots Reflection Nebula in Taurus Molecular Cloud

Jun 30, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced an outstanding image of the reflection nebula GN 04.32.8. This Hubble image shows GN...

Cyanocoronene, composed of seven interconnected benzene rings and a cyano group, was found in the cold, dark molecular cloud TMC-1, a region known for its rich chemistry and as a cradle for new stars. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NSF / NRAO / P.Vosteen.

Cyanocoronene: Astronomers Detect Seven-Ring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in TMC-1

Jun 16, 2025 by News Staff

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are expected to be the most abundant class of organic molecules in space, yet their their lifecycle in the interstellar...

This Webb/NIRCam/MIRI shows the Herbig-Haro object HH 30. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / Tazaki et al.

Webb Observes Mysterious Herbig-Haro Object in Taurus Molecular Cloud

Feb 6, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have captured...

An artistic interpretation of the IRAS 04125+2902 system. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt & K. Miller, Caltech & IPAC.

Astronomers Discover Youngest Transiting Exoplanet

Nov 20, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers have discovered a transiting exoplanet — named IRAS 04125+2902b — orbiting a 3-million-year-old, 0.7-solar-mass protostar in...

L1527, shown in this image from Webb’s MIRI instrument, is a molecular cloud that harbors the IRAS 04368+2557 protostar. The more diffuse blue light and the filamentary structures in the image come from organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while the red at the center of this image is an energized, thick layer of gases and dust that surrounds the protostar. The region in between, which shows up in white, is a mixture of PAHs, ionized gas, and other molecules. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI.

Webb Sees Hourglass-Shaped Molecular Cloud around Protostar

Jul 3, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using the MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) camera aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured a striking new photo of the...

Planet-forming disks around young stars and their location within the gas-rich cloud of Taurus, roughly 600 light-years from Earth. In total, the scientists observed 43 stars in the Taurus region, all of which are pictured here (though planet-forming disks were only detected in 39 of these targets). Image credit: ESO / Garufi et al. / IRAS.

VLT Finds Protoplanetary Disks around 86 Young Stars

Mar 5, 2024 by News Staff

New observations of 86 planet-forming disks provide astronomers with a wealth of data and unique insights into how planets arise in different regions of...

TMC-1. Image credit: ESA / Herschel / NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt, JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Detect Two New Organic Molecules in Interstellar Medium

Nov 7, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the 40-m radio telescope at Yebes Observatory have detected two new complex molecules, butadiynethionyl (HCCCCS) and ethynylbutatrienyliden...

The location of the newly-discovered giant cavity within the Milky Way Galaxy is depicted on the right; a zoomed in view of the cavity (left) shows the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds in blue and red, respectively; though they appear to sit within the cavity and touch, new 3D images of the clouds show they border the cavity and are quite a distance apart. Image credit: Alyssa Goodman / Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Astronomers Find Huge Spherical Cavity in Milky Way Galaxy

Sep 22, 2021 by News Staff

The 490-light-year-wide void is located among the constellations Perseus and Taurus, and was formed by one powerful supernova or a series of such events...

PAH molecules overlaid on the Taurus Molecular Cloud, a large blue-white cloud made of gas and dust with large and small stars of varying luminosities interspersed throughout. Aromatic molecule structures shown in order from left to right: 1-cyanonaphthalene, 1-cyano-cyclopentadiene, HC11N, 2-cyanonaphthalene, vinylcyanoacetylene, 2-cyano-cyclopentadiene, benzonitrile, E-cyanovinylacetylene, HC4NC, propargylcyanide. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Astronomers Detect Two New Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Interstellar Medium

Mar 22, 2021 by News Staff

Using data from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have identified emission from two isomers of a small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon...

An artist’s illustration of complex organic molecules in space. Image credit: Jenny Mottar / NASA.

Astronomers Detect Organic Molecules in Starless and Prestellar Regions of Nearby Stellar Nursery

Jun 16, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers have detected the signatures of two complex organic molecules, methanol and acetaldehyde, in starless and prestellar cores of the Taurus Molecular...

An artist’s impression of a warped disk around a protostar. Image credit: RIKEN.

ALMA Spots Warped Disk around Infant Protostar

Jan 2, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have observed a warped disk around a recently-formed protostar. An artist’s...

The aromatic molecule benzonitrile was detected by NSF’s Green Bank Telescope in the Taurus Molecular Cloud 1. Image credit: B. McGuire & B. Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Radio Astronomers Detect Organic Molecule Benzonitrile in Interstellar Medium

Jan 16, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers studying a well-known nearby cloud of interstellar gas with radio telescopes have detected the presence of benzonitrile (c-C6H5CN), an intriguing...

This is an artist impression of the whirlwind being lifted up from the protoplanetary disk around the 100,000-year-old protostar TMC1A. Image credit: Per Bjerkeli / David Lamm / BOID.

Protostars Shoot Out Powerful Whirlwinds

Dec 15, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array (ALMA) to observe the early stages in the formation of a new star system. For the...

Herschel Detects ‘Oceans of Water’ in Taurus

Oct 11, 2012 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory have discovered huge amounts of water vapor in a cold pre-stellar core in the constellation of Taurus...