Timeline for How cold is interstellar space?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 17, 2020 at 9:47 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
Commonmark migration
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| Jun 3, 2016 at 20:11 | comment | added | pela | @J.O'BrienAntognini: Yes, that's an important point! | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 20:08 | comment | added | J. O'Brien Antognini | Excellent answer. One more thing to add is that there are many different kinds of temperature, and the answer here is just referring to the kinetic temperature. In the ISM, two other important temperatures are the excitation temperature and the ionization temperature. Ordinarily these are the same as the kinetic temperature, but in the ISM they can be substantially different. Here is a good overview of the variety of temperatures: ay201b.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/… | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 19:46 | history | edited | pela | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Explained metallicity
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| Jun 3, 2016 at 14:38 | comment | added | David Hammen | +1. Just to make it clear for readers of this answer, when Pela refers to "metals" he isn't just talking about metals such as iron. To an astronomer, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and neon are also metals. The only elements that aren't metals to an astronomer are hydrogen and helium (and perhaps lithium and beryllium). Paradoxically, lithium and beryllium are metals to a chemist, while carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and neon are not. The presence of any metals drastically changes the behaviors of interstellar gases and stars. The details on which metals are present isn't as important. | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 11:12 | comment | added | pela | @Mobal / TheCodeMan: Ha ha thanks. You're welcome :) | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 10:57 | comment | added | HotSaucey | Thank you for all your effort! I would give you +5, honestly! | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 9:12 | comment | added | pela | @TheCodeMan: I updated the answer, elaborating on cooling processes, and gave some references. | |
| Jun 3, 2016 at 9:11 | history | edited | pela | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Elaborated on cooling
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| Jun 2, 2016 at 19:05 | comment | added | HotSaucey | +1 for detail but what exact physical processes cause the ISM to be divided into phases or at least a link. | |
| Jun 2, 2016 at 18:57 | vote | accept | HotSaucey | ||
| Jun 1, 2016 at 22:18 | history | edited | pela | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
After reading David Hammen's answer, I included a discussion about the lower limit of 2.7 K.
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| Jun 1, 2016 at 21:39 | history | answered | pela | CC BY-SA 3.0 |