Far ultraviolet light is absorbed effectively by the neutral hydrogen gas in the ISM. Specifically, atomic hydrogen absorbs very strongly at about 121.5 nanometers, the Lyman-alpha transition, and also at the other Lyman series lines. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to see light emitted at those wavelengths from a star farther than a few hundred light years from Earth, because most of it is absorbed during the trip to Earth by intervening neutral hydrogen. All photons with wavelength < 91.6 nm, the Lyman limit, can ionize hydrogen and are also very strongly absorbed. The absorption gradually decreases with increasing photon energy, and the ISM begins to become transparent again in soft X-rays, with wavelengths shorter than about 1 nm.