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Serpens–Aquila Rift
The Serpens–Aquila Rift (also known as the Aquila Rift) is a region of the sky in the constellations Aquila (constellation), Aquila, Serpens Cauda, and eastern Ophiuchus containing dark nebula, dark interstellar clouds. The region forms part of the Great Rift (astronomy), Great Rift, the nearby dark cloud of cosmic dust that obscures the middle of the galactic plane of the Milky Way, looking inwards and towards its other radial sectors. The clouds that form this structure are called "molecular clouds", constituting a phase of the interstellar medium which is cold and dense enough for List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules, molecules to form, particularly molecular hydrogen (H2). These clouds are opaque to light in the optical astronomy, optical part of the spectrum due to the presence of interstellar cosmic dust, dust grains mixed with the gaseous component of the clouds. Therefore, the clouds in the Serpens-Aquila Rift block light from background stars in the disk of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Rift (astronomy)
In astronomy, the Great Rift (sometimes called the Dark Rift or less commonly the Dark River) is a dark band caused by interstellar clouds of cosmic dust that significantly obscure ( extinguish) the center and most radial sectors of the Milky Way galaxy from Earth's perspective. In dark, clear night skies, the rift appears as clear as the bright bulge of stars around the Galactic Center does to the naked eye or binoculars. The rift is largely between the Solar System (which is close to the inner edge of the Orion Arm) and the next arm, inward, the Sagittarius Arm. The clouds are an obstruction to millions of the galaxy's stars detected at visible wavelengths, which compose a bright hazy band appearing 30° wide and arching through the night sky. The clouds within our radial sector of the galaxy span about from Earth. The clouds are estimated to contain about 1 million solar masses of plasma and dust. Properties To the naked eye, the Great Rift appears as a dark lane that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
