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Unexpected Discovery: Giant Molecular Cloud Found in Earth’s “Backyard”

Tomikazu Watanabe

Published April 28, 2025 · 2 min read

This stunning new mosaic of images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333. The nebula is in the Perseus molecular cloud, and located approximately 960 light-years away. Webb’s superb sensitivity allows astronomers to investigate young objects with extremely low masses. Some of the faintest ‘stars’ in the picture are in fact newly born free-floating brown dwarfs with masses comparable to those of giant planets. The same cluster was featured as the 33rd anniversary image of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in April of 2023. Hubble’s image just scratched the surface of this region, because clouds of dust obscure much of the star formation process. Observing with a larger aperture and in the infrared part of the spectrum, Webb is capable of peering through the dusty veil to reveal newborn stars, brown dwarfs and planetary mass objects. The centre of the image presents a deep peek into the heart of the NGC 1333 cloud. Across the image we see large patches of orange, which represent gas glowing in the infrared. These so-called Herbig-Haro objects form when ionised material ejected from young stars collides with the surrounding cloud. They are hallmarks of a very active site of star formation. Many of the young stars in this image are surrounded by discs of gas and dust, which may eventually produce planetary systems. On the right hand side of the image, we can glimpse the shadow of one of these discs oriented edge-on — two dark cones emanating from opposite sides, seen against a bright background. Similarly to the young stars in this mosaic, our own Sun and planets formed inside a dusty molecular cloud, 4.6 billion years ago. Our Sun didn’t form in isolation but as part of a cluster, which was perhaps even more massive than NGC 1333. The cluster in the mosaic, only 1–3 million years old, presents us with an opportunity to study stars like our Sun, as well as brown dwarfs and free-floating pla

In a surprising discovery, scientists have found an invisible giant molecular cloud in our cosmic “backyard,” a location extremely close to Earth, offering new insights into the formation of stars and planets.

According to CNN, this gas cloud has been named “Eos,” after the Greek goddess of dawn in mythology. Researchers revealed in a report published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” on Monday, April 28th, that if visible to the naked eye, this cloud would appear extremely massive in the night sky, with an angular width equivalent to about 40 full moons and a mass approximately 3,400 times that of the Sun.

Scientists typically use radio waves and infrared observations to detect molecular clouds by identifying the chemical characteristics of carbon monoxide. However, despite “Eos” being only 300 light-years away from Earth, making it the closest known molecular cloud to date, it had gone unnoticed in the past.

Thomas Haworth, an astrophysicist at Queen Mary University of London and a co-author of the study, explained that this was due to its extremely low carbon monoxide content, making it undetectable through conventional methods.

Subsequently, Haworth and colleagues discovered “Eos” in the data collected by the Far ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph-Satellite Pour l’Etude des Emissions Residuelles (FIMS-SPEAR) instrument onboard the Korean STSAT-1 satellite. This data was made public in 2023 and caught the attention of Blakesley Burkhart, the first author of the current research and an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University.

The far ultraviolet spectrometer is capable of breaking down the far ultraviolet light emitted by substances into various wavelengths, forming spectroscopic data for analysis by scientists.

“This is the first time in history that we have directly detected molecular clouds through the far ultraviolet emission of hydrogen molecules,” Burkhart stated in a press release. “This cloud is truly shining in the darkness.”

Burkhart pointed out that due to the unusually close proximity of “Eos” to Earth, it provides a rare opportunity for “directly measuring how molecular clouds form and dissipate, thereby understanding how the Milky Way galaxy transforms interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets.”

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