This 200-Light-Year-Wide Structure May Power the Center of Our Galaxy: 'Nobody Suspected This Cloud Existed'

Illustration of a giant molecular cloud (Image credit: NSF/AUI/NSF/NRAO/P.Vosteen)

Astronomers have discovered a colossal cloud of gas and dust that stretches for as much as 200 light years and is hidden in a poorly studied region of the Milky Way.

This structure, called the Midpoint Cloud, is an example of a Giant Molecular Cloud (GMC). It was discovered by a team of researchers using the Green Bank Telescope. By analyzing the layers of the Midpoint Cloud, they identified dynamic regions, including several potential sites of new star formation and dense dust lanes that fuel the center of our galaxy.

“Nobody knew this cloud existed until we looked at this patch of sky and found dense gas,” said team leader and National Radio Astronomy Observatory scientist Natalie Butterfield. “By measuring its size, mass, and density, we confirmed that it was a giant molecular cloud.”