What sort of, and how much, solid matter would one be likely to find between stars. I’m not interested in virtual particles, just the “permanent” stuff. Dust? Gravel? Any wandering planets or meteorites? Take-out places?
Same question for intergalactic space.
Thanks, Ron
Approximate density of interstellar medium is one hydrogen atom per cc. It is 99% hydrogen and helium (the rest being heavier elements). There are over-dense regions of dust and perhaps wandering interloping white dwarfs, brown dwarfs, meteoroids, etc…
but mostly its all H and He.
The intergalactic medium is even more diffuse, and even more H and He. There’s very little heavier elements as they depend on stellar nuclearsythesis to be formed, and it just can’t get out of the galaxy that well.
If you were to collect ALL the hydrogen in a 1cm tube between earth and the nearest star you’d end up with only about 7 micrograms. That’s ignoring stellar wind, zodiacal dust associated with the solar systems.
Lots more good info: Interstellar Medium Learning Page
Hmmmm…this is my third try at saying: Thank you very much for the answers and the link.
If this doesn’t work, you may not get thanked.
It also depends on where between the stars you’re looking. There are nebulae, for instance, which are much denser accumulations of gas and dust. And there are at least some planet-like objects in between the stars, but they’re rather difficult to detect, so it’s not yet clear just how many there are.