Self-gravity as an explanation of the fractal structure of the interstellar medium
Article Abstract:
Self-gravity plays a major role in determining the fractal structure of the interstellar medium. Gas clouds and dust constitute the interstellar medium and comprise of hydrogen, helium and other elements in small amounts. A field theory method that considers clouds to be isothermal and possess only gravitational interactions shows that the fractal structure is produced naturally. Though turbulence prevents massive molecular clouds from collapsing as a result of their own gravity, the fractal structure of the clouds may be understood independently of them.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Anomalously small magnetic field in the local interstellar cloud
Article Abstract:
Interstellar hydrogen and helium ions from deep inside the solar system, called 'pickup ions,' were collected by the Ulysses spacecraft in 1992. This was when it flew by Jupiter and afterwards was placed into a solar polar orbit which allowed it to fly over the south pole of the Sun in 1994 and over its north pole in 1995. A measurement of the density of these ions reveals much about the interaction of the heliosphere with the surrounding interstellar medium.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1997
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An almost head-on collision as the origin of two off-centre rings in the Andromeda galaxy
Article Abstract:
The presence of a second, inner dust ring with projected dimensions of 1.5 by 1 kiloparsecs and offset by about half a kiloparsec from the centre of the Andromeda galaxy is reported. Numerical simulations have indicated that both rings result from a companion galaxy plunging through the centre of the disk of M31 and though head-on collisions between the galaxies are rare, it appears that one took place 210 million years ago in the Local Group of galaxies.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2006
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