Interstellar cloud

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/interstellar-cloud

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the dominant molecular species?Molecular hydrogen (H2), often traced by carbon monoxide (CO)
2. What is the typical core temperatures?Below 10 Kelvin (-263 degrees Celsius)
3. What are interstellar clouds?They are huge clouds of gas and dust in space where stars are born. They are the coldest and densest parts of the space between stars.
4. Why do stars form inside interstellar clouds?When parts of a cloud become heavy enough, gravity pulls them together, causing collapse and forming new stars.

Interstellar Medium (ISM): The matter and radiation that exist in the space between the star systems of a galaxy.
Jeans Mass: The minimum mass required for a cloud to collapse under its own gravity.
Metallicity: In astronomy, the abundance of elements heavier than helium in a celestial object.