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molecular cloud

American

[muh-lek-yuh-ler klaud] / məˈlɛk jə lər ˈklaʊd /

noun

Astronomy.

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

molecular cloud British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of molecular cloud

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

molecular cloud

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

From Salon ● May 31, 2025

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.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2024

On the other end of the scale, we have the Orion B molecular cloud complex, a truly enormous site of active star formation that’s over a thousand light-years away and many hundreds of light-years across.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 24, 2023

This newly released image shows a segment of the Chameleon I molecular cloud, some 630 light years from Earth.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2023

The molecular cloud filaments can be up to 1000 light-years long.

From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023