News tagged with cosmic dust

'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

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

Sophisticated telescope camera debuts with peek at nest of black holes

Less than two months after they inaugurated the world's largest telescope, University of Florida astronomers have used one of the world's most advanced telescopic instruments to gather images of the heavens.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 15, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 0

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to Help Astronauts Survive in Infinity

(PhysOrg.com) -- Space seems exotic, forbidding, and remote, but imagine trying to survive winter without a heated shelter or warm clothing. Our ancestors developed these technologies because they needed room ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 17, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (12) | comments 5

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

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

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

Astronomers seek to explore the cosmic Dark Ages

No place seems safe from the prying eyes of inquisitive astronomers. They've traced the evolution of the universe back to the "Big Bang," the theoretical birth of the cosmos 13.7 billion years ago, but there's still a long ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 1

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

Dust around a primitive star sheds new light on universe's origins

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell-led team of astronomers has observed dust forming around a dying star in a nearby galaxy, giving a glimpse into the early universe and enlivening a debate about the origins of all ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jan 15, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0

A dust factory around a dead star

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of astronomers, led by Loretta Dunne from the University of Nottingham, have found some very unusual stardust. In a paper to be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 24, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 8

Astronomer's new guide to the galaxy: Largest map of cold dust revealed

This new guide for astronomers, known as the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL) shows the Milky Way in submillimetre-wavelength light (between infrared light and radio waves). Images ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Scientists bid adieu to plucky solar probe

US and European scientists were Tuesday bidding farewell to the tenacious solar probe Ulysses which has been recording data around the sun for more than 18 years, four times longer than planned.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 30, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (4) | comments 1

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

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

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.