Interstellar extinction in the Magellanic Clouds
Abstract
The extinction properties of interstellar dust in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds have been systematically investigated, using recent UV observations of early type Cloud members along with complementary visible data. The extinction curves differ systematically from the standard Galactic curve. The latter shows a broad absorption feature centered near 2200A in virtually all sight lines but this is absent or only weakly present in the SMC; also the SMC extinction in the far-UV is the largest known relative to E(B-V). Dust in the LMC appears to be intermediate in extinction properties between the SMC and normal Galactic material. Model computations show that the range of grain sizes and their number distribution law may not be significantly different in the Clouds and the Galaxy; the difference in extinction laws can be accounted for by varying the graphite contribution relative to silicate.
- Publication:
-
Structure and Evolution of the Magellanic Clouds
- Pub Date:
- September 1984
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S007418090004047X
- Bibcode:
- 1984IAUS..108..341N
- Keywords:
-
- Cosmic Dust;
- Interstellar Extinction;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Carbon;
- Heavy Elements;
- Hydrogen;
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Stellar Magnitude;
- Stellar Spectra;
- Supergiant Stars;
- Ultraviolet Absorption;
- Astrophysics