Midlife crisis of the universe: Research finds galaxies' interactions did not affect interstellar dust

Dust is the most vital organ in galaxies. It absorbs and scatters stellar light, a phenomenon that is referred to as dust attenuation. On the other hand, dust emits this absorbed radiation thermally in the infrared. Normally, dust emits a similar amount of energy as it was absorbed from stars. This relation between dust absorption and emission, is called the energy balance.