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6 votes
0 answers
113 views

Cooling timescale for an interstellar dust grain

I would like to estimate the cooling timescale for an interstellar dust grain, starting at 200K, down to 100 K. The equation I have come up with is: $\displaystyle t_{cooling} = \frac{mC\Delta T}{Q_{...
lucas's user avatar
  • 1,386
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why is the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) so hot, and what is "collisionless shock heating"?

The Phys.org article Researchers find last of universe's missing ordinary matter says: Ordinary matter, or "baryons," make up all physical objects in existence, from stars to the cores of ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.7k
10 votes
1 answer
441 views

Why are there no ISM clouds with temperatures between 100 and 6,000K?

In the interstellar medium, there are several different diffuse phases of gas, distinguished by their density and temperature. Specifically, the cold neutral medium has temperatures from ~50-100 K and ...
Phiteros's user avatar
  • 3,166
14 votes
5 answers
7k views

How cold is interstellar space?

The vastness of space brings me a sense of chilliness even though I have never experienced it, although I wish to. Just how cold is interstellar space (on average)? How is this even measured? I mean ...
HotSaucey's user avatar
  • 1,093
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

What is the difference between gas and dust in astronomy?

Is there a strict difference between gas and dust? In Earthly environment most things become gaseous if heated enough. The temperature of interstellar medium seems to range mostly between 10 and 10 ...
LocalFluff's user avatar
  • 11.5k