How does the interstellar medium obscure our view of most of the galaxy in visible light quizlet?
How does the interstellar medium obscure our view of most of the galaxy? The small mixture of dust grains in the interstellar medium absorbs visible light.
How should we expect that the interstellar medium of the Milky Way will be different in 50 billion years quizlet?
How should we expect the Milky Way's interstellar medium to be different in 50 billion years than it is today? a. The total amount of gas will be much greater, since many stars will undergo supernovae between now and then.
How can we see through the interstellar medium quizlet?
How can we see through the interstellar medium? are elliptical, with random orientations. The image of our galaxy in radio emission from carbon monoxide maps the distribution of molecular clouds.
Why do we believe that most of the mass of the Milky Way is in the form of dark matter?
Why do we believe that most of the mass of the Milky Way is in the form of dark matter? The orbital speeds of stars far from the galactic center are surprisingly high, suggesting that these stars are feeling gravitational effects from unseen matter in the halo.
What do we mean by the interstellar medium?
In a nutshell, the interstellar medium is the material that fills the space between stars. 99% of the interstellar medium is made up of (mostly hydrogen) gas and the rest is composed of dust. The interstellar medium is vast and expansive in size but very, very low in density.
Can we see through the interstellar medium?
E) We cannot see through the interstellar medium.
How should we expect that the interstellar medium of the Milky Way will be different in 50 million years?
How should we expect the Milky Way's interstellar medium to be different in 50 billion years than it is today? The total amount of gas will be much less than it is today.
What is the interstellar medium quizlet?
the matter between stars, composed of two components, gas and dust, intermixed throughout all of space.
What role did interstellar dust play in the quest to determine the shape and size of our galaxy?
What role did interstellar dust play in the quest to determine the shape and size of our galaxy? It magnified the light from stars, making them appear closer. It obscured some regions and made others appear dimmer and redder. It outlined the Milky Way's structure.
Why do we believe our galaxy is made mostly of dark matter?
We believe in the free flow of information Dark matter, by its very nature, is unseen. We cannot observe it with telescopes, and nor have particle physicists had any luck detecting it via experiments.
What is the interstellar medium of a galaxy?
interstellar medium, region between the stars that contains vast, diffuse clouds of gases and minute solid particles. Such tenuous matter in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way system, in which the Earth is located, accounts for about 5 percent of the Galaxy's total mass.
Why is interstellar medium important?
This interstellar medium contains primordial leftovers from the formation of the galaxy, detritus from stars, and the raw ingredients for future stars and planets. Studying the interstellar medium is essential for understanding the structure of the galaxy and the life cycle of stars.
How does the interstellar medium interact with stars?
How does the interstellar medium interact with stars? The light from stars heats hydrogen in the interstellar medium, to the point where hydrogen molecules undergo fusion during collisions and begin the first stage of star formation.
What is interstellar reddening and explain how it can be used to map out the distribution of dust in a cloud?
Thus starlight passing through a cloud appears redder than in the absence of a cloud. The amount of reddening can be measured by comparing a star's observed color to that expected for its spectral type. By looking at many stars and measuring the reddening toward each one, a map of the dust distribution can be built up.
Why does the interstellar dust play a vital role in the chemistry of the galaxy?
Radiation from interstellar molecules and from dust provides that cooling mechanism. The thermal control exerted by interstellar molecules is what permits the formation of galaxies and stars from very tenuous intergalactic and interstellar material in the Universe in its present state of evolution.
Why did the interstellar gas and dust collapse?
Stars form from an accumulation of gas and dust, which collapses due to gravity and starts to form stars. The process of star formation takes around a million years from the time the initial gas cloud starts to collapse until the star is created and shines like the Sun.
What causes interstellar gas?
II. Interstellar gas is ionized by radiation from many sources. The dominant source of high-energy photons capable of ionizing hydrogen (E > 13.6 eV) is the O and B stars (T > 104 K).
How does dark matter affect galaxies?
Dark matter can also affect the path of light. In a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, dense objects can cause the light of distant objects to bend around it. This can result in distorted images and duplicate images of stars and galaxies.
How has dark matter affected the general structure of the universe quizlet?
How has dark matter affected the general structure of the universe? Dark matter allowed large objects such as super-clusters to form.
Why is interstellar space important?
Why is interstellar space important? The interstellar medium is where stars are made. Without it, we wouldn't exist. If there weren't thick and thin spots that condensed into thicker patches that eventually became stars, the whole universe would just be a cloud of boring, cold, lifeless gas.
What do you understand by interstellar reddening how it is caused?
Interstellar reddening occurs because interstellar dust absorbs and scatters blue light waves more than red light waves, making stars appear redder than they are. This is similar to the effect seen when dust particles in the atmosphere of Earth contribute to red sunsets.
Why is interstellar matter important?
With time the amount of heavy elements in the composition of the interstellar medium and of stars formed from the interstellar medium slowly increases. The interstellar medium therefore plays an important role in the chemical evolution of the galaxy. See also Stellar evolution.
How do stars form from the interstellar medium?
At these temperatures, gases become molecular meaning that atoms bind together. CO and H2 are the most common molecules in interstellar gas clouds. The deep cold also causes the gas to clump to high densities. When the density reaches a certain point, stars form.
What makes up the interstellar medium Select all that apply?
The interstellar medium is rich in cold, dense gas. It contains stars of high and low mass, both young and old. It is primarily made up of old, low mass main sequence stars. It only contains a disk component.
What is in the interstellar medium?
In a nutshell, the interstellar medium is the material that fills the space between stars. 99% of the interstellar medium is made up of (mostly hydrogen) gas and the rest is composed of dust. The interstellar medium is vast and expansive in size but very, very low in density.
How does dark matter affect the universe?
The even distribution means that dark energy does not have any local gravitational effects, but rather a global effect on the universe as a whole. This leads to a repulsive force, which tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe.
Why is dark matter thought to have played a major role in the formation of galaxies and larger structures?
Dark matter is thought to have played a role in the formation of galaxies because its mass would have provided most of the gravitational attraction needed to make the protogalactic clouds and larger structures.
How did dark matter contribute to the formation of galaxies quizlet?
How did dark matter contribute to the formation of galaxies? The gravity of dark matter seems to be what draws gas together into protogalactic clouds, initiating the process of galaxy formation.
What is interstellar medium in astronomy?
In a nutshell, the interstellar medium is the material that fills the space between stars. 99% of the interstellar medium is made up of (mostly hydrogen) gas and the rest is composed of dust. The interstellar medium is vast and expansive in size but very, very low in density.
What are the effects of interstellar reddening on the measured distances and observed colors of stars?
We have seen that absorption of starlight by interstellar dust can cause stars to appear fainter than they should and therefore cause us to overestimate their distance or underestimate their luminosity. In addition, interstellar reddening can cause stars to appear redder than they should.