Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Space Astrophysics

Our solar system seems to be inside a “bubble” of interstellar medium.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
October 27, 2017
in Astrophysics
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Our solar system appears to exist inside a “bubble”, inside a network of cavities inside the interstellar medium, which was probably created by massive star explosions millions billions of years ago. Interstellar medium (ISM) is a term coined for the matter that exists in galaxies, between solar systems. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays, smoothly filling the gaps between the intergalactic matter.

ISM is extremely important and intensely studied by astrophysicists because of the intermediary role it plays, somewhere between stellar and galactic scales; also, dense ISM is the birthplace of stars and molecular clouds. The interplay between ISM and stars also represents the rate at which a galaxy depletes its gaseous content, thus the lifespan of active star formation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Currently, the sun is passing through a Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), shown in violet, located in a low density “hole”, called the Local Bubble, shown in black. Understanding this makes a shy, but important step towards understanding the birth and development of our solar system, in an intergalactic context. For example phosphorus, a crucial element which is essential for the formation of DNA is extremely rare in our solar system, and it’s quite possible that it was alltogether absent in the early phases of the Earth.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Picture and article source.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: galacticgalaxyinterstellar mediumsolar systemstellar formation
ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Andrei's background is in geophysics, and he's been fascinated by it ever since he was a child. Feeling that there is a gap between scientists and the general audience, he started ZME Science -- and the results are what you see today.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.