I What is column density in astronomy?

AI Thread Summary
Column density in astronomy refers to the number of particles per unit area along a line of sight through a medium, often used to describe the distribution of gas and dust in space. The discussion highlights confusion around the calculation and derivation of column density, with specific references to academic resources for further reading. Participants suggest reviewing various links, including Wikipedia and scholarly articles, to clarify understanding. The user seeks assistance in grasping the concepts presented in these resources, particularly in relation to specific sections that detail calculations and examples. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of foundational knowledge and available literature in comprehending column density.
ray_mcintos
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
TL;DR Summary
I have read about column density but I am unable to get a clear idea about it.
What is column density in astronomy?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
Welcome to the PF.
ray_mcintos said:
Summary:: I have read about column density but I am unable to get a clear idea about it.

What is column density in astronomy?
Could you post some links to your reading so far, and point out what is confusing? Doing a Google search on your thread title turns up lots of good hits, IMO...

1589831322164.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_density

https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/400/4/2050/1746878

http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/education/spring02/scalo/aikawa.pdf
 
  • Like
Likes ray_mcintos and davenn
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/680323/pdf

Section 4 in the above link, I was trying to understand the way to calculate but I am not clear about the derivation and in the section 15 there are some examples of column density calculation that one too.
 
  • Like
Likes berkeman

Thread 'How feasible is home radio astronomy?'

Is a homemade radio telescope realistic? There seems to be a confluence of multiple technologies that makes the situation better than when I was a wee lad: software-defined radio (SDR), the easy availability of satellite dishes, surveillance drives, and fast CPUs. Let's take a step back - it is trivial to see the sun in radio. An old analog TV, a set of "rabbit ears" antenna, and you're good to go. Point the antenna at the sun (i.e. the ears are perpendicular to it) and there is...
View full post »

Thread 'Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos'

This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
View full post »

Thread 'Visible light Over Large Distances'

How does light maintain enough energy in the visible part of the spectrum for the naked eye to see in the night sky. Also, how did it start of in the visible frequency part of the spectrum. Was it, for example, photons being ejected at that frequency after high energy particle interaction. Or does the light become visible (spectrum) after hitting our atmosphere or space dust or something? EDIT: Actually I just thought. Maybe the EM starts off as very high energy (outside the visible...
View full post »

Similar threads

B Looking for a list of astronomy collaborations
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Can You Build Your Own Radio Telescope at Home?
Replies
3
Views
2K
I What is the astronomy reason for no UHF channel 37?
Replies
35
Views
5K
A Efficient cone searches with Healpix-alchemy
Replies
0
Views
2K
I Quantum Astronomy - well sort-of
Replies
0
Views
1K
I IRAF 2025?
Replies
3
Views
1K
I (See image) At what distance does the temperature of the Corona decline?
Replies
2
Views
1K
B High School Astro Club: Teaching Astronomy in a City
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Right ascension and Declination calculations
Replies
4
Views
2K
B Why Does an Einstein Ring Have Four Images?
Replies
9
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top