Molecular

Fluffy Molecular Clouds Formed Stars in the Early Universe

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This image from the research shows the overall view of the SMC and the positions of the target YSOs. Image Credit: Tokuda et al. 2025.

Stars form in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), vast clouds of mostly hydrogen that can span tens of light years. These stellar nurseries can form thousands of stars. Astronomers know this because they observe these regions in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds and watch as stars take shape. But the Universe is more than … Read more

NASA’s SPHEREx Launches Soon and Will Search For Water in Molecular Clouds

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This image shows a semi-frontal view of the SPHEREx observatory during integration and testing at BAE Systems (Boulder, CO). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

As far as we can tell, life needs water. Cells can’t perform their functions without it. Some have suggested that other exotic liquids, like liquid methane, could do the job on worlds like Saturn’s moon Titan. That idea is highly speculative, though. So, it makes sense that NASA is launching a spacecraft dedicated to the … Read more