dustobscured

Dustobscured is a term used in astronomy and related fields to describe radiation sources or regions whose light is significantly attenuated by interstellar or intergalactic dust. It is a neologism formed by combining dust with obscured to convey the effect of dust on visibility and spectral energy distribution.

In practice, dust extinction and reddening reduce optical brightness and shift color toward longer wavelengths. The degree of obscuration is quantified by parameters such as A_V (visual extinction) and the extinction curve, which depends on dust composition and grain size. Dustobscured objects may appear faint or invisible in visible light but can be detected in the infrared and submillimeter bands.

Dustobscured phenomena occur along dusty sightlines within the Milky Way, in other galaxies, and in the early universe. Notable examples include dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) and the crowded dust lanes in star-forming regions. In the local universe, the plane of the Milky Way presents substantial dust obscuration that affects observations.

Observational strategies emphasize infrared, millimeter, and radio wavelengths and employ facilities such as Spitzer, WISE, Herschel, ALMA, and JCMT to pierce the dust. Radiative transfer modeling and spectral energy distribution fitting are used to estimate intrinsic luminosities, star formation rates, and dust properties despite obscuration.

The term dustobscured is not a formal astrophysical category but a descriptive label used to discuss the effects of dust on observations. It helps researchers communicate about selection effects, measurement biases, and multiwavelength analysis required to study obscured sources.