The Taurus
Molecular Cloud is
a vast star-forming region
threaded by a network of
filaments. It was captured
here by the European
Space Agency’s Herschel
Space Observatory,
which operated from
2009 to 2013. ESA/HERSCHEL/
NASA/JPL-CALTECH, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO;
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: R. HURT
(JPL-CALTECH)
ACCR ETION IS ONE of the
most fundamental processes in the
cosmos. It is a universal phenom-
enon triggered by gravity, and the
process by which bits of matter
accumulate and coalesce with more
bits of matter. It works inexorably
on all scales to attract and affix
smaller things to bigger things,
from the tiniest dust grains to
supermassive black holes.