diffuse interstellar bands


diffuse interstellar bands

A series of more than a dozen diffuse (wide) absorption features due to dust in interstellar clouds, of which the most intense include those at wavelengths of 443, 618, and 628 nm. There are at least three (but possibly more) families of bands. The carriers have not yet been identified, although they are almost certainly solids: evidence is mounting in favor of some sort of aromatic hydrocarbon.