4 ms·
"dusty"? (1) The dust is made of what atoms, not just hydrogen, right? (2) What is the origin of that dust? We're talking that dust was already in place 1 bi
by graycat 3y ago
"dusty"? (1) The dust is made of what atoms, not just hydrogen, right? (2) What is the origin of that dust? We're talking that dust was already in place 1 billion years or so after the Big Bang. (3) The first guess for the origin would be supernovas, but the observation shows a lot of dust, enough for "hundreds of new stars every year", and that is too much mass for just one supernova. So, the origin would be many supernovas?
- danparsonson 3y agoYes, supernovas, and other stellar emissions (blowing off clouds of material, stellar winds) - the earliest stars would likely have been very massive, highly active, and therefore have had short lifespans. These then paved the way for newer stars and clouds containing the higher elements. "Dust" is a bit of a catch-all term but it's usually silicon- and carbon-based molecules. https://www.astronomy.com/science/ask-astro-the-universe-is-full-of-dust-whats-it-made-of/ https://www.astronomy.com/science/ask-astro-the-universe-is-... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_early_universe https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_early_univer... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust
- jpalawaga 3y agoYes, look at things like the horsehead nebula. Or the pillars of creation. They’re absolutely vast regions. Astronomers like to call them stellar nurseries. The Orion complex is hundreds of light years across. Plenty of time and space for unbridled star creation