The beauty, complexity, and mysteries of the Universe can only be understood fully if we study all of the information that distant objects provide. And this can be done only if we collect all of the light available to us, from one end of the electromagnetic spectrum to the other. This Table lists some of the astronomical objects that are seen best in particular wavelengths, and their characteristic temperatures.
| Type Of Radiation | Characteristic Temperature |
|
| Gamma rays | more than 108 Kelvin (K) |
* Interstellar clouds where cosmic rays collide with hydrogen nuclei
* Accretion disks around black holes * Pulsars or Neutron Stars |
| X-rays | 106-108 K |
* Regions of hot, shocked gas
* Gas in clusters of galaxies * Neutron stars * Supernova remnants * Stellar corona |
| Ultraviolet | 104-106 K |
* Supernova remnants
* Very hot stars * Quasars |
| Visible | 103-104 K |
* Planets
* Stars * Galaxies * Reflection nebulae * Emission nebulae |
| Infrared | 10-103 K |
* Cool stars
* Star Forming Regions * Interstellar dust warmed by starlight * Planets * Comets * Asteroids |
| Radio | less than 10 K |
* Cosmic Background Radiation
* Scattering of free electrons in interstellar plasmas * Cold interstellar medium * Regions near neutron stars * Regions near white dwarfs * Supernova remnants * Dense regions of interstellar space (e.g. near the galactic center) * Cold, dense parts of the interstellar medium - concentrated in the spiral arms of galaxies in molecular clouds (often the site of star formation). * Cold molecular clouds |
|
|
|