APOD: Molecular Clouds in the Carina Nebula (2019 Oct 02)

[Ann]

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Interstellar dust particle. Source:
http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys230/le ... _dust.html

What David Malin meant, I think, is that the dust particles themselves get a lot smaller when they are hit by hard ultraviolet radiation and strong winds from hot massive stars.

Take a look at the dust grain at right. It looks large and fluffy, doesn't it? I guess hard radiation and strong winds could break it up.

Ann

[Chris Peterson]

The "Reindeer Rat-thingy" nebula...

I think a better term is "Dispersed" rather than evaporating...I don't thing dust becomes a vapor, doesn't it just "move off"?

While "evaporate" certainly has the meaning of a state change between liquid and gas, that is far from its only meaning.