News tagged with cosmic dust

Is the Earth a cosmic feather-duster?

Scientists at the University of Leeds are looking to discover how dust particles in the solar system interact with the Earth's atmosphere.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created May 18, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

CODITA: measuring the cosmic dust swept up by the Earth

Although we think of space as being empty, there is more out there than meets the eye – dust, for example, is everywhere. If all the material between the Sun and Jupiter were compressed together it would ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 30, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 3

New SCUBA-2 camera reveals wild youth of the universe

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of astronomers from the UK, Canada and the Netherlands have commenced a revolutionary new study of cosmic star-formation history, looking back in time to when the universe was still ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 27, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

From Earth's water to cosmic dawn: New tools unveiling astronomical mysteries

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two new and powerful research tools are helping astronomers gain key insights needed to transform our understanding of important processes across the breadth of astrophysics. The Atacama Large ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

APEX turns its eye to dark clouds in Taurus

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new image from the APEX (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) telescope in Chile shows a sinuous filament of cosmic dust more than ten light-years long. In it, newborn stars are hidden, and dense ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

In glowing, swirling dust, new stars are born

(PhysOrg.com) -- An image taken by UA astrophotographer Adam Block, chosen by NASA as Astronomy Picture of the Day, brings us the best yet glimpse into a stellar nursery about 450 light years away from Earth.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 09, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3

In the heart of Cygnus, NASA's Fermi reveals a cosmic-ray cocoon

(PhysOrg.com) -- The constellation Cygnus, now visible in the western sky as twilight deepens after sunset, hosts one of our galaxy's richest-known stellar construction zones. Astronomers viewing the region ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 28, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (12) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

The cool clouds of Carina

(PhysOrg.com) -- Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimetre-wavelength light reveal the cold dusty clouds from which stars form in the Carina Nebula. This site of violent star formation, which ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Herschel Space Observatory discovers source of cosmic dust in a stellar explosion

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's Herschel Space Observatory is helping unravel the mystery of where cosmic dust comes from. Thanks to the resolution and sensitivity of Herschel, astronomers have been able to detect ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jul 07, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Strongest evidence yet indicates Enceladus hiding saltwater ocean

(PhysOrg.com) -- Samples of icy spray shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus collected during Cassini spacecraft flybys show the strongest evidence yet for the existence of a large-scale, subterranean saltwater ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 22, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (23) | comments 29 | with audio podcast

Researchers develop new model to predict the optical properties of nanostructures

University of British Columbia chemists have developed a new model to predict the optical properties of non-conducting ultra-fine particles.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Mar 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Making stars: Studies show how cosmic dust and gas shape galaxy evolution

Astronomers find cosmic dust annoying when it blocks their view of the heavens, but without it the universe would be devoid of stars. Cosmic dust is the indispensable ingredient for making stars and for understanding ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 22, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

'Necropanspermia' suggested as a way of seeding life on Earth

(PhysOrg.com) -- Panspermia is a mechanism for spreading organic material throughout the galaxy, but the destructive effects of cosmic rays and ultraviolet light tend to mean most organisms would be destroyed ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 12, 2010 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (32) | comments 47 | with audio podcast report

Study: Meteorites point to our solar system as source of organic materials

Tiny meteorites found in ultra-pure Antarctic snow may provide scientists with evidence that the building blocks of life may have come from within our own solar system, rather than from the far reaches of ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 11, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (11) | comments 2

Peek Into the Depths of the Universe - With Your iPhone

(PhysOrg.com) -- Transient Events, a new iPhone application for amateur and professional astronomers and anyone interested in the universe, highlights cosmic events such as exploding supernovae, comets traveling ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 15, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Cosmic dust

Cosmic dust is a type of dust composed of particles in space which are a few molecules to 0.1 mm in size. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location; for example: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust (potentially concentrated in a nebula), interplanetary dust (such as in a circumstellar disk) and circumplanetary dust (such as in a planetary ring).

In our own Solar System, interplanetary dust causes the zodiacal light. Sources include comet dust, asteroidal dust, dust from the Kuiper belt, and interstellar dust passing through our solar system.

For more information about Cosmic dust, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.