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The interstellar medium is composed of multiple phases distinguished by whether matter is ionic, atomic, or molecular, and the temperature and density of the matter. The interstellar medium is composed primarily of hydrogen, followed by helium with trace amounts of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. [1] The thermal pressures of these phases are in ...
The density of matter in the interstellar medium can vary considerably: the average is around 10 6 particles per m 3, [135] but cold molecular clouds can hold 10 8 –10 12 per m 3. [39] [133] A number of molecules exist in interstellar space, which can form dust particles as tiny as 0.1 μm. [136]
Metallicity. For metallic and nonmetallic compounds, see Metal and Nonmetallic material. The globular cluster M80. Stars in globular clusters are mainly older metal-poor members of population II. In astronomy, metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium.
Molecular clouds typically have interstellar medium densities of 10 to 30 cm-3, and constitute approximately 50% of the total interstellar gas in a galaxy. [11] Most of the gas is found in a molecular state. The visual boundaries of a molecular cloud is not where the cloud effectively ends, but where molecular gas changes to atomic gas in a ...
Interstellar travel is the hypothetical travel of spacecraft between star systems. Due to the vast distances between the Solar System and nearby stars, interstellar travel is not possible with current propulsion technologies. To reach stars within reasonable amount of time (decades or centuries), an interstellar spacecraft must reach a ...
The visible shells of circumstellar material were ejected by the central star over thousands of years. One of the richest sources for detecting interstellar molecules is Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2), a giant molecular cloud near the centre of the Milky Way. About half of the molecules listed below were first found in Sgr B2, and many of the others ...
The clumping factor is a measurement of how density varies within a gaseous medium, and is commonly used in astrophysical settings where gas is not distributed uniformly. . Gas densities can vary over many orders of magnitude, from the low density plasma in the Intergalactic medium between galaxies, to the neutral and dense molecular regions in the interstellar medium inside of galaxi
Nebula. A nebula (Latin for 'cloud, fog'; [1] pl.: nebulae, nebulæ, or nebulas[2][3][4][5]) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula.