Cooling of the interstellar gas: results from COBE

Abstract

We report the results of new analyses of far infrared spectral line observations from the FIRAS instrument on the COBE satellite with special attention to the spatial distributions of the 158 μm [C II] and the 122 μm and 205 μm [N II] emission lines. These distributions provide new insight into the large‐scale distribution and excitation of gas in the Milky Way. Transitions of [C I] at 370 μm and 609 μm and CO J=2‐1 through 5‐4 are also discussed.