Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1Cite as

Cirrus Cloud

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 204 Accesses

Definition

In astronomy, cirrus clouds are sources of infrared (IR) emission detected by the InfraRed Astronomy Satellite (IRAS), a joint project of the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands which surveyed the sky at wavelengths of 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm. The spatial distribution of this IR emission is similar in appearance to terrestrial cirrus clouds, although the latter have nothing to do with the interstellar clouds. The astronomical emission arises from interstellar dust in our galaxy, particularly that associated with the diffuse portions of interstellar clouds.

See Also

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Lederle Graduate Research Tower B 619E, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9305, USA

    William M. Irvine

Authors
  1. William M. Irvine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William M. Irvine .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Irvine, W.M. (2014). Cirrus Cloud. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1709-3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1709-3

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation