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 aroun ...

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 te ...

. 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 ...

-like in appearance. These structures were first detected by the

Infrared Astronomy Satellite The Infrared Astronomical Satellite ( Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten mo ...

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, tr ...

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 ...

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