The Atacama Pathfinder
Experiment (APEX) in Chile offers a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in
the group Orion. In observable light, this dense interstellar cloud appears
dark and solid. The LABOCA camera on APEX, however, can detect the heat
radiation emitted by dust and so do the hideouts of the just emerging star
locate. One of these dark clouds is not what it seems.
Dense clouds of cosmic
gas and dust in space are the birthplaces of new stars. In visible light, the
dust appears dark and opaque so that it hides the stars behind.
