How does cosmic dust within the Milky Way primarily impede viewing distant stars?
Answer
By scattering and absorbing starlight, acting as a cosmic curtain.
Interstellar gas and microscopic particles collectively known as cosmic dust form vast clouds throughout galaxies, including our own Milky Way. This material acts obstructively, similar to a curtain, by scattering and absorbing the light emanating from stars located behind it on its path toward Earth. This obscuration is particularly effective at removing shorter wavelengths of light. Unlike the atmospheric issues, this blockage is spatially non-uniform; the degree of dimming depends entirely on how dense and extensive the specific patch of dust is along the precise line of sight to the target star.
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