A Galaxy of Dynamic Gases

A Galaxy of Dynamic Gases

The success of n-body numerical simulation to predict the motion of planets and stars cannot be denied.  At the same time, the erroneous application of these model to intra-galactic objects and galaxies themselves have led to a popular narrative that is full of magic and other non-sense.  In this ambitious posting, I have put together the astrophysical data in a different way – one that looks at objects from a more scientific and engineering point of view.  This data has been used to show that the various objects in space should be considered as continuum bodies, rather than collections of particles.    Classical physical laws and concepts are used to show how and why many of the phenomenon we see and

The Cave Nebula and Hydrogen’s Journey

The Cave Nebula and Hydrogen’s Journey

One cannot understand the creation of stars from molecular hydrogen clouds any more than one can understand the weather here on earth without reference to thermodynamics. The weather is largely driven by water in gaseous (vapour), liquid (rain, clouds) and solid (snow, ice and ice crystals) forms. Knowing the pressures and temperatures at which these physical phase states occur is fundamental for both water in its role of creating weather, and for hydrogen in its role of creating both stars and the galaxy itself. Every atom and molecule of hydrogen must undergo and piecewise continuous journey through its phase/space – there is no leaping allowed, and the conditions must exist somewhere in a system for phase transitions to occur.
In our description of galaxies, we discuss the atomic and molecular phase states of hydrogen, but here we illustrate and explain the rest of the phase/state journey that hydrogen, at least at the nucleus of a star, must undergo to enable star formation. This is a journey from molecular gas all the way to becoming a hot, molten, liquid metal.

Collapse of a Molecular Cloud in 3 waves

Collapse of a Molecular Cloud in 3 waves

The standard textbooks indicate that the start or conception of a new star formation is the collapse of a molecular cloud.  But my background in thermodynamics, heat/mass transfer and fluid mechanics leaves this superficial explanation ungratifying (at least to me?).  This pervasive theory has already be debunked in my description of spiral galactic structure, but what should replace it?  What would cause a molecular cloud or part of one to “collapse”.  I have presented here, three variations of the same view of the Bernard 169 (the loopy one on the right), and Bernard 174 (shaped like a foot on the far left) – both molecular clouds in the process of “collapsing”, or as I would rather put it – condensing – towards star conception.  Both B169 and 174 are dark nebulae that emit no light of their own, but rather block light from the background and reflect any starlight from stars in their proximity.  There are indications, even in this dark nebula, of new star formation – can you spot them?

The Rotten Fish Heat Engine – LDN1251 (Cepheus) in LRGB

The Rotten Fish Heat Engine – LDN1251 (Cepheus) in LRGB

The Rotten Fish Nebula shows a piece of molecular cloud that has been torn from a spiral arm and eroded by ISM wind and turbulence. While we can’t see molecular hydrogen, we can see the light blocking and reflecting dust it carries with it.
Dust plays an important role in keeping the galaxy cool, particularly is dust nodules, such as this. Cold shrinks the gases, keeps the molecular clouds viscous, and provides the very cold temperatures necessary for star formation. It is the galaxies cooling system. A simple, home experiment is suggested that can help bring the role of cloud collapse and even star nucleation to real life.