An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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Thermal emission in infrared from interstellar → dust grains receiving photons. Dust grains absorb ultraviolet and visible light emitted by nearby stars and re-radiate in the infrared wavelengths. Since the infrared light is of lower energy than the ultraviolet/visible light, the difference goes into heating the dust grain. Typical temperatures for interstellar grains are tens of degrees Kelvin.

→ dust; → emission.