molecular cloud

[muh-lek-yuh-ler kloud]

noun

Astronomy.

1. an interstellar cloud of gas and dust composed of hydrogen, helium, and other molecular remnants of a supernova.

molecular cloud

noun

1. a cool dense interstellar region composed of a wide variety of molecules, mainly hydrogen, plus some dust, in which stars are forming

Word History and Origins

Origin of molecular cloud¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

In this case, they pointed their telescopes toward a Galactic Center molecular cloud named G+0.693-0.027.

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The results help explain why stars born from the same molecular cloud can possess different chemical composition and host different planetary systems, as well as pose challenges to current stellar and planet formation models.

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These stellar pairs are born together out of the same molecular cloud from a shared abundance of chemical building blocks, so astronomers would expect to find that they have nearly identical compositions and planetary systems.

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The third possible explanation looks back at the beginning of the stars' formation, suggesting that the differences originate from primordial, or pre-existing, areas of nonuniformity within the molecular cloud.

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In simpler terms, if the molecular cloud has an uneven distribution of chemical elements, then stars born within that cloud will have different compositions depending on which elements were available at the location where each formed.

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