This article gives an overview of the constitution, physical conditions and observables of dust in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies. We first review the macroscopic, spatial distribution of dust in these objects, and its consequence on our ability to study grain physics. We also discuss the possibility to use dust tracers as diagnostic tools. We then survey our current understanding of the microscopic, intrinsic properties of dust in different environments, derived from different observables: emission, extinction, polarization, depletions, over the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Finally, we summarize the clues of grain evolution, evidenced either on local scales or over cosmic time. We put in perspective the different evolution scenarios. We attempt a comprehensive presentation of the main observational constraints, analysis methods and modelling frameworks of the distinct processes. We do not cover the dust properties of the Milky Way and distant galaxies, nor circumstellar or active galactic nucleus torus dust.

中文翻译：

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邻近星系的星际尘埃特性

本文概述了附近星系星际介质中尘埃的构成、物理条件和可观察到的情况。我们首先回顾了这些物体中灰尘的宏观空间分布，及其对我们研究颗粒物理能力的影响。我们还讨论了使用粉尘示踪剂作为诊断工具的可能性。然后，我们调查了我们目前对不同环境中灰尘微观、内在特性的理解，这些特性源自不同的可观测性：发射、消光、极化、损耗，在整个电磁频谱上。最后，我们总结了在局部尺度或宇宙时间证明的晶粒演化线索。我们透视了不同的进化场景。我们尝试全面介绍主要的观察限制，不同过程的分析方法和建模框架。我们不涵盖银河系和遥远星系的尘埃特性，也不涵盖星周或活动星系核环面尘埃。