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What will FUSE Explore?
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- Space is not empty! The vast region between the stars
is actually filled with tenuous gas and dust that astronomers call
the interstellar medium (ISM).
- This tenuous gas absorbs some light from distant stars and galaxies,
leaving a "fingerprint" in the spectrum. Astronomers analyze this fingerprint
to learn about these otherwise invisible regions of our galaxy.
- The light range explored by FUSE contains MANY unique fingerprints of both
very hot and very cold gas.
- The only previous satellite similar to FUSE was the Copernicus satellite
in the 1970s. But Copernicus could only observe stars close to the sun, in the
local region of space (shown in green above).
- FUSE will have the sensitivity of
Copernicus!
- By observing fingerprints from hundreds of sight lines over three years, FUSE will map out the
ISM of the Milky Way in great detail, providing a new understanding of our
galaxy and its cosmic evolution!
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