Study shows Moon engulfed in permanent, lopsided dust cloud

The moon is engulfed in a permanent but lopsided dust cloud that increases in density when annual events like the Geminids spew shooting stars, according to a new study led by University of Colorado Boulder.

The mysterious case of asteroid Oljato's magnetic disturbance

(Phys.org)—Back in the 1980s, the arrival of asteroid 2201 Oljato inside the orbit of Venus heralded a flurry of magnetic activity. Now, results from ESA's Venus Express spacecraft suggest that Oljato has lost its magnetic ...

Cosmic dust demystified

The solar system is a dusty environment, with trillions of cosmic dust particles left behind by comets and asteroids that orbit the sun. All this dust forms a relatively dense cloud through which the Earth travels, sweeping ...

Cosmic puzzle settled: Comets give us shooting stars

Suspicions that shooting stars come from comet dust, transformed into fiery streaks as they hit Earth's atmosphere, have been bolstered by Europe's Rosetta space mission, scientists reported Monday.

Asteroids and comets shower Mars with organics

Asteroids and comets appear to be a much more important supplier of organic molecules on Mars than expected. Until now, astronomers assumed that the organics on Mars mainly came from dust particles from space. Now, computer ...

Searching for the solar system's chemical recipe

(Phys.org)—By studying the origins of different isotope ratios among the elements that make up today's smorgasbord of planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and interplanetary ice and dust, Mark Thiemens and his colleagues ...

Dust particles from afar

When in 1990 the solar probe Ulysses embarked on its 19-year-long exploration tour, the participating researchers turned their attention not only to our Sun, but also to significantly smaller research objects: interstellar ...

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