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| Lupus clouds | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lupus clouds |
| Type | Molecular cloud complex |
| Epoch | J2000 |
| Constellation | Lupus |
| Distance | 400–600 ly |
| Region | Milky Way |
| Notable objects | Lupus I, Lupus III, Lupus IV, Lupus V |
Lupus clouds The Lupus clouds are a nearby complex of dark molecular clouds in the southern constellation Lupus, notable for active low-mass star formation and dense filamentary structure. Situated near prominent southern targets such as the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association and the Rho Ophiuchi complex, the clouds bridge studies using facilities like the European Southern Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and the Very Large Telescope. They are referenced in surveys by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Herschel Space Observatory.
The complex comprises several main subregions designated Lupus I through Lupus VI and is cataloged in studies by the Two Micron All Sky Survey, the Planck Collaboration, and the Gould Belt Survey. Historical mapping involved contributions from astronomers associated with the Royal Observatory, the Harvard College Observatory, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, later expanded by teams at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, and the California Institute of Technology. The region links to research programs at institutions such as the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the European Space Agency, and features in catalogs like the Henry Draper Catalogue and the SIMBAD database.
Located in the southern sky near constellations Scorpius, Norma, and Centaurus, the clouds lie at distances estimated by parallax measurements from the Hipparcos mission and the Gaia spacecraft, with contributions from researchers at the European Southern Observatory and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy refining distance estimates. Structural analyses reference filament studies from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, with filamentary morphologies compared to those in the Orion A molecular cloud, the Perseus molecular cloud, and the Taurus molecular cloud. Dense cores within Lupus are identified in catalogs compiled by the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey, the Submillimeter Array, and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, with velocity structure studied using facilities at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique and the Nobeyama Radio Observatory.
Star formation in the clouds produces classical T Tauri stars, weak-lined T Tauri stars, and brown dwarfs, with protostellar populations characterized in surveys by the Spitzer c2d legacy program, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and XMM-Newton. Membership lists draw on spectroscopic work by teams affiliated with the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, and the European Southern Observatory, and include objects identified in the 2MASS point source catalog, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer catalog, and the Gaia DR2 release. The initial mass function and disk fraction studies reference comparisons with the Taurus association, IC 348, NGC 1333, and the Orion Nebula Cluster, while multiplicity surveys involve instruments at the Keck Observatory, the Gemini Observatory, and the Very Large Telescope Interferometer.
Chemical inventories derived from millimeter and submillimeter spectroscopy by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the IRAM 30m telescope, and the Mopra Telescope reveal molecules such as CO isotopologues, HCO+, NH3, and complex organic molecules noted in surveys by the Nobeyama Radio Observatory, the Green Bank Telescope, and the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique. Physical conditions—temperature, density, and magnetic field—are constrained using polarimetric data from the Planck satellite, Zeeman measurements by the Arecibo Observatory, and Faraday rotation studies associated with teams at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Turbulent linewidths, column densities, and extinction maps are compared with results from studies of the Pipe Nebula, the Chamaeleon I cloud, and the Cepheus Flare.
Early optical identification involved catalogers at the Royal Observatory and photographic surveys tied to the Carte du Ciel project and the Perth Observatory. Infrared and radio follow-up included the Infrared Astronomical Satellite all-sky survey, the Spitzer Space Telescope c2d program, and Herschel observations from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey, with millimeter mapping by CARMA and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. X-ray characterization has been provided by the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, Chandra, and XMM-Newton, while recent Gaia astrometry refined kinematics and membership through work by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium and researchers at the European Southern Observatory.
As part of the Gould Belt and the local arm of the Milky Way, the Lupus clouds interact dynamically with the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association, the Upper Scorpius subgroup, and the Local Bubble, with implications discussed in studies by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Their star-forming efficiency and feedback processes are compared to those in the Orion Complex, the Vela Molecular Ridge, and the Carina Nebula complex, informing models developed at institutions such as the Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences, the University of Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, and the University of California system. The clouds contribute to understanding low-mass star formation, protoplanetary disk evolution, and the chemical enrichment of the local interstellar medium explored by collaborative programs including the European Southern Observatory and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Category:Interstellar clouds