Perseus molecular cloud
Encyclopedia
The Perseus molecular cloud is a nearby (600 ly) Giant Molecular Cloud in the constellation
of Perseus
and contains over 10,000 solar masses of gas and dust covering an area of 6 by 2 degrees. Unlike the Orion molecular cloud it is almost invisible apart from two clusters, IC 348
and NGC 1333
, where low-mass stars are formed. It is very bright at mid and far-infrared wavelengths and in the submillimeter originating in dust heated by the newly formed low-mass stars.
It shows a curious ring structure in maps made by the IRAS
and MSX
satellites and the Spitzer Space Telescope
and has recently detected by the COSMOSOMAS
at microwave frequencies as a source of anomalous "spinning dust
" emission.
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of Perseus
Perseus (constellation)
Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the Greek hero Perseus. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union...
and contains over 10,000 solar masses of gas and dust covering an area of 6 by 2 degrees. Unlike the Orion molecular cloud it is almost invisible apart from two clusters, IC 348
IC 348
IC 348 is a star forming region in the constellation Perseus located about 315 parsecs from the Sun. It consists of nebulosity and an associated 2 million year old cluster of roughly 400 stars within an angular diameter of 20″. The most massive stars in the cluster are the binary star...
and NGC 1333
NGC 1333
NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It belongs to the Perseus molecular cloud.In 2011 researchers reported finding 30 to 40 brown dwarf objects in the cloud and in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.-External links:* * *...
, where low-mass stars are formed. It is very bright at mid and far-infrared wavelengths and in the submillimeter originating in dust heated by the newly formed low-mass stars.
It shows a curious ring structure in maps made by the IRAS
IRAS
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite was the first-ever space-based observatory to perform a survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths....
and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
satellites and the Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
and has recently detected by the COSMOSOMAS
COSMOSOMAS
COSMOSOMAS is a circular scanning astronomical microwave experiment to investigate the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy and diffuse emission from the Galaxy on angular scales from 1 to 5 degrees. It was designed and built by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Tenerife, Spain, in 1998...
at microwave frequencies as a source of anomalous "spinning dust
Spinning dust
"Spinning dust" or more formally Anomalous Microwave Emission is a galactic emission mechanism proposed to be generated by the electric dipole of very rapidly spinning extremely small dust grains...
" emission.