Ensemble of observed positions for MBM 40. The molecular morphology derived from FCRAO ¹²CO contours at 1, 2, 3, 4 K km s⁻¹ is shown in yellow. Red rectangles with numbers are MAP1, 2, 3, and 4 observed mainly in ¹²CO and ¹³CO with Onsala telescope. Blue diamonds with numbers along the west ridge are the Arecibo CH positions used in the shear analysis in §5.2 (other archival CH observations, which cover the whole cloud, are not shown here). Position Z, which has some sparse observations in ¹²CO, HCN, and other molecules from ARO, is shown as a red circle. Orange contours highlight the “cocoon” structure in H I (contours at 15, 17 19 and 21 K km s⁻¹, integrated between 2 and 4 km s⁻¹). The white compass indicates the orientation in Galactic coordinates, so the Galactic plane is beyond the left side of the figure. Visible image showing dust reflection courtesy of Maurizio Cabibbo.