ISM

A poem about the Interstellar Medium.

Solar System Portrait, “Earth as Pale Blue Dot” (source)

Infrared radiation penetrates deeply,
due to the low optical depth —
to penetrate in the depths of molecular clouds.
Far from thermodynamic equilibrium
[a few MeV]
hot stars chip away electrons from dust grains.
Imagine a supernova remnant
& its magnetohydrodynamic waves;

once a molecule is excited,
it eventually returns to a lower energy state,
emitting a photon which can leave the region,
cooling the cloud…tickling kelvin’s zero;
absolute — resolute, in stasis: quiet quanta.

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