Related papers: Large-scale Interstellar Structure and the Heliosp…
Interstellar polarization at far-infrared through millimeter wavelengths (0.1 - 1 mm) is primarily due to thermal emission from dust grains aligned with magnetic fields. This mechanism has led to studies of magnetic fields in a variety of…
The interplay between the ISM and the massive stars formed in clusters and, more generally, in recent events of star formation is reviewed via the global effects each has on the other. The pre-existing environment affects the properties of…
(abridged) The polarized thermal radiation at far infrared and submillimeter wavelengths from dust grains in interstellar clouds with irregular magnetic fields is simulated. We show that the polarization properties of quiescent clouds and…
Radiative transfer equilibrium models of nearby interstellar matter (ISM) yield the boundary conditions of the heliosphere when constrained with observations of ISM inside and outside of the heliosphere. Filtration factors for interstellar…
The strengths of magnetic fields in interstellar gas clouds are obtained through observations of the circular polarization of spectral line radiation. Irregularities in this magnetic field may be present due to turbulence, waves or perhaps…
Interstellar linear polarization occurs when starlight passes through elongated dust grains aligned by interstellar magnetic fields. The observed polarization can come from different dust structures along the line of sight (LOS). By…
Herschel observation has recently revealed that interstellar molecular clouds consist of many filaments. Polarization observations in optical and infrared wavelengths indicate that the magnetic field often runs perpendicular to the…
The interstellar bubble RCW 120 seen around a type O runaway star is driven by the stellar wind and the ionising radiation emitted by the star. The boundary between the stellar wind and interstellar medium (ISM) is associated with the…
A soft X-ray shadow has been discovered on the periphery of the Loop I supershell in the ROSAT All Sky Survey. The distance, size, geometry and spectral data indicate that it is cast by an annular volume of dense neutral matter which has…
This article gives an overview of the constitution, physical conditions and observables of dust in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies. We first review the macroscopic, spatial distribution of dust in these objects, and its…
A broad array of interstellar absorption features that appear in the ultraviolet spectra of bright sources allows us to measure the abundances and ionization states of many important heavy elements that exist as free atoms in the…
The importance of understanding the current and historical galactic environments of cool stars is discussed. The penetration of interstellar gas into a stellar astrosphere is a function of the interaction of the star with the interstellar…
Using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we have obtained high-resolution ultraviolet spectra of the C I absorption toward two stars behind the Local Leo Cold Cloud (LLCC). At a distance (~20…
Massive stars are expected to produce wind-blown bubbles in the interstellar medium; however, ring nebulae, suggesting the existence of bubbles, are rarely seen around main-sequence O stars. To search for wind-blown bubbles around…
The Sun lies in the middle of an enormous cavity of a million degree gas, known as the Local Bubble. The Local Bubble is surrounded by a wall of denser neutral and ionized gas. The Local Bubble extends around 100 pc in the plane of Galaxy…
The solar wind carves a bubble in the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM), known as the heliosphere. Charged interstellar dust grains (ISDG) encountering the heliosphere may be diverted around the heliopause or penetrate it depending on…
Stars and planets are formed inside dense interstellar molecular clouds, by processes imprinted on the 3-dimensional (3D) morphology of the clouds. Determining the 3D structure of interstellar clouds remains challenging, due to projection…
Over the recent past, the galactic environment of the Sun has differed substantially from today. Sometime within the past ~130,000 years, and possibly as recent as ~56,000 years ago, the Sun entered the tenuous tepid partially ionized…
I review those properties of the interstellar medium within 15 light-years of the Sun which will be relevant for the planning of future rapid ($v /ge 0.1c$) interstellar space missions to the nearest stars. As the detailed properties of the…
The physical conditions within our heliosphere are driven by the Sun's motion through an evolving interstellar environment that remains largely unexplored. The next generation of outer heliosphere and interstellar explorers will answer…