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An extreme example of visible light extinction, caused by a dark nebula. In astronomy, extinction is the absorption and scattering of electromagnetic radiation by dust and gas between an emitting astronomical object and the observer. Interstellar extinction was first documented as such in 1930 by Robert Julius Trumpler.
Dark nebulae are dark because naked interstellar dust or dust covered with condensed gases absorb visible light by extinction and remit infrared and submillimetre radiation. Infrared emission from the dust cools the clouds down to 10 to 20 K. [ 63 ] The largest dark nebula are giant molecular clouds that contain 10 thousand to 10 million solar ...
Solar System dust includes comet dust, planetary dust (like from Mars), [4] asteroidal dust, dust from the Kuiper belt, and interstellar dust passing through the Solar System. Thousands of tons of cosmic dust are estimated to reach Earth's surface every year, [ 5 ] with most grains having a mass between 10 −16 kg (0.1 pg) and 10 −4 kg (0.1 ...
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 transport of the material from the outer disk can mix these newly formed dust grains with primordial ones, which contain organic matter and other volatiles. This mixing can explain some peculiarities in the composition of Solar System bodies such as the presence of interstellar grains in primitive meteorites and refractory inclusions in comets.
An alternative, arguably even simpler, derivation can be found using energy considerations. In the interstellar cloud, two opposing forces are at work. The gas pressure, caused by the thermal movement of the atoms or molecules comprising the cloud, tries to make the cloud expand, whereas gravitation tries to make the cloud collapse.
Christopher Nolan's sci-fi film, starring Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, hit theaters 10 years ago
The vast majority of the electromagnetic radiation from the central stars is absorbed by surrounding dust, then emitted as mid-and far infrared appropriate to the temperature of the dust. This allows almost the entire energy output of the system to be observed at wavelengths that are not strongly affected by interstellar extinction, leading to ...