The Perseus molecular cloud (Per MCld) is a nearby (~1000 ly)

giant molecular cloud A molecular cloud—sometimes called a stellar nursery if star formation is occurring within—is a type of interstellar cloud of which the density and size permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydrogen ...

in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

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 is a star formation, star-forming region in the constellation Perseus (constellation), Perseus located about 1,000 light years from the Sun. It consists of nebulosity and an associated 2-million-year-old cluster of roughly 400 stars withi ...

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 The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a astronomical survey, survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 Janu ...

and

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

satellites and the

Spitzer Space Telescope The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), was an infrared space telescope launched in 2003, that was deactivated when operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicate ...

and has been detected by the COSMOSOMAS at microwave frequencies as a source of anomalous " spinning dust" emission.

References

* * *More on ''THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL'' http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/656/1/293 {{DEFAULTSORT:Perseus Molecular Cloud Molecular clouds Perseus (constellation) Star-forming regions