02-28-2017, 06:21 PM
Thanks, Lodestone, and I agree that'd be a great name!
"Galactic extinction" is a term an astronomer would understand, but not one a layperson would necessarily know. It's a number that tells you how much light is scattered or blocked by material in our own galaxy. The lower the number, the more light gets through from outside the Milky Way. As you might imagine, if you looked into our galaxy's disk, that number would be high as you're looking through tens of thousands of light years of stuff, but if you look directly out of the disk, then there is much less gas and dust so much more light gets through.
I can provide a technical explanation of what E(B-V) is, but assume most aren't that interested, so I'll only do so if someone asks.
"Galactic extinction" is a term an astronomer would understand, but not one a layperson would necessarily know. It's a number that tells you how much light is scattered or blocked by material in our own galaxy. The lower the number, the more light gets through from outside the Milky Way. As you might imagine, if you looked into our galaxy's disk, that number would be high as you're looking through tens of thousands of light years of stuff, but if you look directly out of the disk, then there is much less gas and dust so much more light gets through.
I can provide a technical explanation of what E(B-V) is, but assume most aren't that interested, so I'll only do so if someone asks.