The Rotten Fish Nebula shows a piece of molecular cloud that has been torn from a spiral arm and eroded by ISM wind and turbulence. While we can’t see molecular hydrogen, we can see the light blocking and reflecting dust it carries with it.
Dust plays an important role in keeping the galaxy cool, particularly is dust nodules, such as this. Cold shrinks the gases, keeps the molecular clouds viscous, and provides the very cold temperatures necessary for star formation. It is the galaxies cooling system. A simple, home experiment is suggested that can help bring the role of cloud collapse and even star nucleation to real life.
The Rotten Fish Heat Engine – LDN1251 (Cepheus) in LRGB
