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S. I. B. Cartledge, G. C. Clayton (Louisiana State University), M. J. Wolff (SSI), U. J. Sofia (Whitman College), K. D. Gordon (Steward Obs.)
Understanding interstellar dust is an important step toward constructing a more complete picture of the universe---virtually all observations of astrophysical objects and their physical processes are affected by the presence of dust, either within the system being studied or along its line of sight. Specifically, far ultraviolet (FUV) observations of interstellar extinction are particularly useful for investigating the properties of small dust grains. We have acquired \textit{Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer} observations of several sightlines in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds whose FUV extinction curves exhibit distinct signatures associated with the small grain population and whose mid-UV extinction curves reveal vastly differing amounts of intermediate-sized particles. These data will be used to probe and constrain the properties of the small dust grains, such as abundance and size, and their connection to the very different environments observed.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.