Abstract
THE precise composition of interstellar dust is as yet unknown. Recent studies of the wavelength dependence of extinction and polarisation favour a composite model of three components: (1) elongated dielectric particles of radii ∼ 10−5 cm, which would explain the data in the 1–0.3 µm spectral region; (2) almost spherical graphite particles of radii ≲ 2 × 10−6 cm, which would explain the near and middle ultraviolet data in 0.3 ≳ λ, ≳ 0.2 µm; and (3) small dielectric particles which contribute mainly to extinction and albedo at wavelengths, λ ≲ 0.2 µm.
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WICKRAMASINGHE, N. Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar space. Nature 252, 462–463 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252462a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/252462a0
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