Researchers have found a massive, glowing hydrogen gas cloud named Eos, located 300 light-years away. Utilizing far-ultraviolet spectroscopy aboard the South Korean satellite STSAT-1, the team identified this crescent-shaped cloud on the periphery of the Local Bubble surrounding our solar system. Eos, with a mass 3,400 times greater than the Sun, may provide crucial information on how molecular clouds contribute to star formation and the cosmic journey of hydrogen since the Big Bang, with implications for understanding the interstellar medium and galactic evolution.
The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet," said Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences associate professor and team lead Blakesley Burkhart in a statement. "This cloud is literally glowing in the dark.
Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets.
The hydrogen in Eos has been traveling for 13.6 billion years since the Big Bang, illustrating the vast timeline of cosmic evolution.
The story of the cosmos is a story of the rearrangement of atoms over billions of years, emphasizing the importance of studying interstellar mediums.
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