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Astronomy Team finds evidence of Galactic Metal Shrouded in Dust

UCI-led astronomy team finds evidence of galactic metal shrouded in dust
NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory enabled a UCI-led team of astronomers to study infrared emissions from five nearby galaxies. The researchers found more metal than expected in the intergalactic medium, a result that would have been difficult to achieve without the power of viewing infrared radiation through thick galactic dust. Jim Ross / NASA

Infrared emissions reveal secrets invisible with optical wavelength observations. Using NASA’s SOFIA observatory and other data resources, an international team of astronomers has uncovered evidence of metals in local galaxies — found to be deficient in earlier studies — by analyzing infrared data gathered during a multiyear campaign.

A thorough understanding of galaxy evolution depends in part on an accurate measurement of the abundance of...

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