A monster molecular cloud has been discovered in our galaxy

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An international team of astronomers has discovered a massive cloud of gas and dust located in a little-known region of our Milky Way galaxy. The Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC) is about 60 parsecs -- or 200 light years -- long.

In a new study published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT) have peered into a molecular cloud known as M4.7-0.8, nicknamed the Midpoint cloud. Their observations have revealed a dynamic region bustling with activity, including potential sites of new star formation.

"One of the big discoveries of the paper was the GMC itself. No one had any idea this cloud existed until we looked at this location in the sky and found the dense gas. Through measurements of the size, mass, and density, we confirmed this was a giant molecular cloud," shares Natalie Butterfield, an NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) scientist and lead author of this paper.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250903075159.htm

 

[FloatingFatMan]

Yeah, that was me, sorry... That curry was a killer...  

[Matthew S.]

So that's what that stench was...