User:Karl D. Gordon/Interstellar Dust

Interstellar dust refers to solid particulate matter which is located in between stars. Other major types of cosmic dust are interplanetary dust, circumstellar dust, and intergalactic dust refering to dust in our Solar System, very near stars, and in between galaxies.

History

Early history of dust.

Observational Signatures

Extinction

Describe reddening. Mention DIBs. Show a plot of extinction (maybe just show an unreddened and a reddened star?). Mention X-ray absorption edges. Mention IR absorption features (silicates, ices, etc.).

Articles exist on interstellar extinction (but no mention of IR absorptions = 3.4um, ice, silicates, etc.), interstellar reddening (pretty basic), diffuse interstellar band (pretty good), and interstellar medium (some dust stuff).

Scattering

Origin of reflection nebulae. Show a nice picture (point out pleiades(sp?) is due to reflection. Mention X-ray scattering halos.

Pages exist for Reflection nebula, Dark nebula

Infrared Emission

Dust absorbs light and re-emits in the infrared.

Other Emissions

non-heat type emissions: ERE, Blue PL, possible NIR features.

Current Models

Talk about current dust grain models and what they tell us about the composition of dust. Make sure to mention bare grain, layered, and composite models.