Interstellar Medium
What is Interstellar Medium?
Interstellar medium is the gas and dust that pervade interstellar space: the matter that exists between the star systems within a galaxy. The interstellar medium consists of an extremely dilute mixture of ions, atoms, molecules, larger dust grains, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields. The Interstellar medium plays a crucial role in astrophysics precisely because of its intermediate role between stellar and galactic scales.
The nature of the interstellar medium has received the attention of astronomers and scientists over the centuries. However, they first had to acknowledge the basic concept of “interstellar” space.
The process of fine structure cooling is dominant in most regions of the Interstellar Medium, except regions of hot gas and regions deep in molecular clouds. It was assumed that this aether extended into interstellar space, as Patterson (1862) wrote, “This efflux occasions a thrill, or vibratory motion, in the ether which fills the interstellar spaces.”
Approximately 99% of the mass of the interstellar medium is in the form of gas with the remainder primarily in dust. The total mass of the gas and dust in the interstellar medium is about 15% of the total mass of visible matter in the Milky Way.
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