A volume of space where the hydrogen in the
interstellar medium is in an ionized
rather than a neutral state. Generally, HII regions occur where hot, blue
OB stars are pouring large amounts of ultraviolet
radiation into the surrounding cloud from which they were recently formed.
Such stars can ionize all the hydrogen (and other atoms) for dozens or even
hundreds of light-years in every direction. The ultraviolet light strips
electrons away from hydrogen atoms by the
process known as photoionization.
Then as the electrons recombine with protons (hydrogen nuclei) they emit
a characteristic series of emission lines
as they cascade down through the energy
levels of the atom. The visible radiation in these lines imparts to
HII regions their beautiful colored glows.
|Sh2-242: a small HII region on the edge of a molecular
cloud that lies just southeast of the supernova remnant Simeis 147
in the constellation of Taurus
HII regions have typical kinetic
temperatures of 10,000 to 20,000 K, and a density of about 10 atoms/cm3.
The most famous of them is the Orion Nebula.
Compare with HI region.
AND INTERPLANETARY MATTER