First Detection of Interstellar S 2 H

Detection of H 3 1 in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium

The molecular ion H3 1 is considered the cornerstone of interstellar chemistry because it initiates the reactions responsible for the production of many larger molecules. Recently discovered in dense molecular clouds, H3 1 has now been observed in the diffuse interstellar medium toward Cygnus OB2 No. 12. Analysis of H3 1 chemistry suggests that the high H3 1 column density (3.8 3 10 per square ...

Formation of H 3− by radiative association of H 2 and H− in the interstellar medium

Interstellar H(3)(+).

Protonated molecular hydrogen, H(3)(+), is the simplest polyatomic molecule. It is the most abundantly produced interstellar molecule, next only to H(2), although its steady state concentration is low because of its extremely high chemical reactivity. H(3)(+) is a strong acid (proton donor) and initiates chains of ion-molecule reactions in interstellar space thus leading to formation of complex...

Visualizing Interstellar ’s Wormhole

Christopher Nolan’s science fiction movie Interstellar offers a variety of opportunities for students in elementary courses on general relativity theory. This paper describes such opportunities, including: (i) At the motivational level, the manner in which elementary relativity concepts underlie the wormhole visualizations seen in the movie. (ii) At the briefest computational level, instructive...

Interstellar H 2 in M 33 detected with Fuse ⋆

Fuse spectra of the four brightest H ii regions in M 33 show absorption by interstellar gas in the Galaxy and in M 33. On three lines of sight molecular hydrogen in M 33 is detected. This is the first measurement of diffuse H2 in absorption in a Local Group galaxy other than the Magellanic Clouds. A quantitative analysis is difficult because of the low signal to noise ratio and the systematic e...