Like black fog wedging into space, this dark molecular cloud seems to absorb the light of distant stars.
It is believed that this dusty cloud called “LDN1774” can collapse under reciprocal gravity and, eventually, bring about the birth of a protostar and a possible system of planets.
This formation was observed in visible light with the aid of a Wide Field Imager instrument attached to a 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile. But this is not the only example of such an ominous black cosmic cloud.
Located about 500 light-years from Earth, there is another black molecular cloud, Barnard 68. This cloud can be observed in the infrared. This form of radiation can pass through star-forming material, which allows scientists to see the earliest stages of star formation.
