Infrared cirrus or galactic cirrus are galactic filamentary structures seen in space over most of the sky that emit far-

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

. The name is given because the structures are

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

-like in appearance. These structures were first detected by the Infrared Astronomy Satellite at

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...

s of 60 and 100

micrometre The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

References

External links

Molecular Hydrogen in Infrared Cirrus
Kristen Gillmon, J. Michael Shull, 2006 Abstract *
PDF Paper

The Physics of Infrared Cirrus
C. Darren Dowell, Roger H. Hildebrand, Alexandre Lazarian, Michael W. Werner, Ellen Zweibel Interstellar media {{astrophysics-stub

See also

References

External links