The dust and gases that float between stars

Look like veiled vagabonds.

Yet they are as enigmatic as anything encountered thus far.

HAVING just recently begun discussion on the interstellar material in the last issue, we noted that we barely tickled the surface of the otherwise stupendous affair that is among the latest, and the greatest of discoveries of great items of universe. Let me quickly add to the selected list of those wonderful things, like the Big Bang, Galaxies, Quasars, Globular Clusters and Black Holes as being equally unique and remarkable. Think of the excitement it caused each time one made its discovery.

Among them, the earliest to make an appearance and assert itself was the discovery of galaxies, whose existence had been suspected just after ‘interstellar’ matter was being debated. Enough has been said about galaxies except that whatever is left for discussion bears a lot of interest and will be taken up later on.

Interstellar matter, or more popularly, the ‘Dark Matter’ is altogether different and so it must occupy our attention now. Vast clouds of dust and gases reside in the still vast empty spaces between stars.

In other words, they are inter-stellar clouds of matter and consist of gases (98per cent matter and 2 per cent dust). This was first identified by the presence of dark matter artfully obscuring the light of most of the stars in the galaxy, so that they were either dimmed by the dark matter or hidden by its ominous presence.

In the early stages, they were dubbed as holes, or better still, vacancies among stars. However, it did not take long for a small team of astronomers to understand and study them with renewed vigour, although the thrust in their understanding had to wait till the 1950s.

Inter-stellar or the dark matter continuously confounded many scientists throughout the world ever since it was discovered by (and acknowledged by many), Edward E. Barnard of the US way back near the end of nineteenth century. You already know about the great man’s life and his struggles. Interstellar matter is a gathering, or collection of gases and dust drifting between stars while stars orbit the galaxy.

But I have a sneaking feeling that there is very little quantity of the loose matter between the stars of globular clusters, as compared with other, more distant stars.

As they roam merrily all over the galaxy. It appears that most of the interstellar matter is gobbled up by the closely packed stars of globular clusters (due to intense gravity), leaving little for the prying astronomers. Much of the matter, therefore, lies between other, loosely scattered stars. The question of their existence, (dense or tenuous ) however, continues to be controversial and is not likely to be settled one way or the other any time soon.

The one astounding thing, in view of some astronomers is the volume of this dark matter. To me, and many other astronomers, it is a detail that totally defies common sense and outfoxes me.

It is that all the galaxies, and all thousands of trillions of stars across the universe only take up a tiny portion of matter as against the energy of the dubious dark matter, both in terms of energy and the quantity of matter. It never ceases to confound me. Such is the extent of the dark matter that the bright matter that appropriated, or created all the luminous material is a small fraction of the whole.

Upon mathematical workout of the scientists it revealed to their horror that the interstellar matter took up some 80-90per cent of the total matter of the universe. Incredible, isn’t it? Hardly believable!

However, there are some perplexing questions that arise in some readers’ minds as they did in mine after I dealt with the matter first, years and years ago.

The first one was: why did all the dark matter not coalesces (accrete) into stars, and eventually galaxies, given the laws of gravity that ominously dictate everything else in the universe.

Or is it that the matter is altogether different in the case of the dark matter, as against the ‘luminous’ matter, the one that becomes stars and galaxies, despite the lapse of billions of years on the trot? We have to find it out, that a hundred billion luminous galaxies take up only a small percentage of the matter of the entire pantry which is absolutely astounding if nothing worse. The greatest joke in astronomy it is! And believing the volume of the dark matter is akin to disregarding all the known and tried laws and hypotheses of science as accumulated over the past three thousand long years, more importantly, in the last four hundred years.

The story of the discovery of interstellar or dark matter, to speak the least, was very depressing for the man who actually discovered it. Yes, Edward Emerson Barnard was driven through hell in the course of his professional career at the great Lick Observatory, US, housing the world’s primary telescope.

Not for the reason of any lack of capability on his part but for want of a pretentious formal education (as you know that he barely attended school), and having been born to the poorest family. He was virtually hounded out of the major seat of learning and discovery that Lick Observatory was.

And of all the people, the director of the observatory, Mr Edward Holden made the poor fellow’s life miserable.

As far as the man’s own penchant for his job is concerned, let it be recorded for posterity that he would spend a measly two hours each night at the great telescope, disallowing its use to other scientists; above all Barnard, who waited with bated breath for their turn. The director would go off to sleep at midnight denying the others the use of this great telescope, despite cajoling and persuasion by all, Barnard suffered the worst.

A long dispute ensued, resulting in Edward Holden losing his job at the end of the squabble.

The questions that still remain at this point are why did all the matter not coalesce into stars and galaxies? Was the interstellar matter not subject to the same laws of gravity as elsewhere in the universe? Some astronomers offer a ludicrous explanation to such questions. Having nothing tangible to say in turn, they say that all of the dark or the interstellar matter that we encounter is actually the ‘spent’ matter. That is, the stars that have lived out their lives, and have been reduced to ashes after having had a field day for several billion years.

I do not buy such ideas that cheap. But we shall conclude the discourse in the next issue when we come up with something new. Meanwhile, your own input is welcome in addition. Till then, Good bye and God bless!

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