Existence and Amount of Intergalactic Dust

The existence of intergalactic dust has been proved by the following observational facts: the decrease of the numbers of distant galaxies and clusters of galaxies behind the central regions of near clusters of galaxies; the different distributions of RR Lyrae stars and galaxies near ι Microscopii (Hoffmeister's cloud); the dependence of colour excesses of galaxies on supergalactic coordinates as well as on the surface density of bright galaxies; the colour index vs redshift correlation of quasistellar objects. The densities of intergalactic dust are estimated to be between 5×10−30 g cm−3 (near the centers of clusters of galaxies) and 2×10−34 g cm−3 (in general intergalactic space). The grains may be formed either in the early phases of the Universe (25