Articles tagged with Cosmic Dust
UCF physicists analyze space dust using far IR spectroscopy to identify minerals and provide clues about solar system formation and life emergence. The findings will be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal.
Research reveals cosmic dust originates from Koronis asteroids, with analysis matching mineralogy and chemistry to chondrite meteorite samples. The study provides new insights into the earliest history of our solar system.
A study of extraterrestrial dust in Antarctic ice cores found that the amount of cosmic dust falling to Earth has remained largely constant over the past 30,000 years. This finding could help refine efforts to understand the timing and effects of changes in the Earth's past climate.
Researchers from Alfred Wegener Institute and L-DEO have determined the temporal variability of helium flux between glacial and interglacial periods using an Antarctic ice core. The study reveals a marked difference in terrestrial dust composition during the last Ice Age versus current warm period, with implications for climate archives.
Researchers found massive-star supernovae to be major space dust factories, producing up to seven thousand earth masses of solid dust particles. This discovery challenges existing theories and provides new insights into the processes that produce dust in the universe, with implications for the formation of comets, planets, and life.
Scientists at Ohio State University discovered that bumpy surfaces on interstellar dust grains can explain the formation of molecular hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. By simulating different surfaces, researchers found that only bumpy textures enable two hydrogen atoms to bond in space.
A team led by Dr. Loretta Dunne has discovered a thousand times more cosmic dust than previously detected in the remnant of a supernova explosion in our own Galaxy. This finding solves the riddle of how large quantities of dust were formed in the early universe and provides evidence for supernovae as efficient dust factories.
Researchers from Cardiff University and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh found that some supernovae belch out huge quantities of cosmic dust. This discovery suggests that supernovae were responsible for producing the first solid particles in the Universe, shedding light on the origin of our planet.
A Rutgers scientist has found evidence of 'onions' in space, which are tiny but intricate components of nanotechnology. The discovery confirms that carbon onions are responsible for the way light is absorbed by dust in deep space.
A team of scientists from NASA and Max Planck Institute observed the deflection of galactic dust grains by solar radiation, finding that radiation pressure is stronger than solar gravity for certain mass ranges. This phenomenon affects the trajectory of dust particles near the Sun, causing them to move slower and be deflected.
Researchers compiled a catalog of 200 nearby spiral galaxies and discovered that approximately 30% contain bar-shaped bands of stars, which are more common than thought. Infrared telescopes revealed the presence of these bars, indicating that galaxies have interacted with each other in the last 10 billion years.
University of Michigan astronomers have detected the cool infrared signature of dust grains and silicates within superheated gas in the center of ancient elliptical galaxies. The discovery could represent the first direct observation of how mass lost by aging stars evolves in a hot, exotic environment.
Researchers using Hubble Space Telescope spot large dust particles in rings around three stars, suggesting planets may be forming. The observations reveal a critical early stage in planetary evolution, with the potential for millions of years of dust grain aggregation to form planets.
The Stardust mission, launched in February, will be the first mission since Apollo to return samples of space material to Earth for analysis. The spacecraft will encounter Wild 2, a comet that alters course among the inner planets, and trap small particles from its coma.
Researchers use Hubble Space Telescope to track dense dust and gas in central regions of Seyfert galaxies, finding spiral arms that extend from the nucleus to the rest of the galaxy. This discovery suggests an alternative to stellar bar-driven fueling, requiring further theoretical modeling to fully understand the mechanism.
Astronomers use Hubble Space Telescope images and a computer model to study the behavior of stars in their infancy, shedding light on how cosmic dust influences the environment. The findings provide new insights into the formation of solar systems and the role of powerful jets of dust and gas in shaping star formation.