Chandra :: Educational Materials :: Stellar Evolution :: Stellar Evolution - Cycles of Formation and Destruction:
"NGC 3370 is a spiral galaxy similar in size and structure to our own Milky Way Galaxy. In visible wavelengths, the image is dominated by the stars and clouds of gas and dust that reside in and define the spiral arm structure. Not obvious in the image are the dust grains, and atomic and molecular gases that comprise the tenuous interstellar medium (ISM) interspersed between the stars. The extremely low average density of the interstellar medium - about one atom per cubic centimeter - is nearly a perfect vacuum; however, due to the enormous amount of space between the stars, the ISM constitutes ~20-30% of the mass of a galaxy. The interstellar medium is primarily hydrogen and helium created during the Big Bang, enriched with heavier elements from the nuclear fusion of elements in the cores of the following generations of stars. The interstellar medium is immersed in radiation from stars, magnetic fields, and cosmic ray particles, and has an average temperature of ~1,000,000 Kelvin (K)."
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