Molecular Clouds Within 100 Pc

Observations at the 2.6 mm line of CO reveal the presence of a large number of molecular clouds at high galactic latitude. If the velocity dispersion of the clouds is a measure of their scale height, the mean distance of the ensemble detected is 100 pc. The clouds are unusual in that either they are not gravitationally bound or they are very deficient in CO relative to molecular hydrogen. These clouds represent a heretofore unrecognized component of the local interstellar medium. If they are pervasive in the Milky Way, they probably represent the small molecular cloud component of the interstellar medium.