Chapter 20, Problem 28E

We have said repeatedly that blue light undergoes more extinction than red light, which is true for visible and shorter wavelengths. Is the same true for X-rays? Look at Figure 20.19. The most dust is in the galactic plane in the middle of the image, and the red color in the image corresponds to the reddest (lowestenergy) light. Based on what you see in the galactic plane, are X-rays experiencing more extinction at redder or bluer colors? You might consider comparing Figure 20.19 to Figure 20.14.

Figure 20.14 Barnard 68 in Infrared. In this image, we see Barnard 68, the same object shown in Figure 20.9. The difference is that, in the previous image, the blue, green, and red channels showed light in the visible (or very nearly visible) part of the spectrum. In this image, the red color shows radiation emitted in the infrared at a wavelength of 2.2 microns. Interstellar extinction is much smaller at infrared than at visible wavelengths, so the stars behind the cloud become visible in the infrared channel. (credit: ESO)

Figure 20.19 Sky in X-Rays. This image, made by the ROSAT satellite, shows the whole sky in X-rays as seen from Earth. Different colors indicate different X-ray energies: red is 0.25 kiloelectron volts, green is 0.75 kiloelectron volts, and blue is 1.5 kiloelectron volts. The image is oriented so the plane of the Galaxy runs across the middle of the image. The ubiquitous red color, which does not disappear completely even in the galactic plane, is evidence for a source of X-rays all around the Sun. (credit: modification of work by NASA)