Astronomers have discovered the closest known molecular cloud to Earth, giving them a rare close-up view of the cosmic recycling of matter that fuels the creation of new stars and planets.
Named "Eos" after the Greek goddess of dawn, the newfound cloud is an enormous, crescent-shaped blob of hydrogen gas located just 300 light-years from Earth. At roughly 100 light-years wide, it spans the equivalent of about 40 Earth moons lined up side by side, making it one of the largest structures in the sky.
