News tagged with solar system dust

Desert dust intensifies summer rainfall in U.S. southwest

(Phys.org) -- Dust is more than something to be brushed off the furniture. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that dust kicked up from the desert floor acts like a heat pump in the atmosphere, ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created May 21, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

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

Astrobiologists discover 'sweet spots' for the formation of complex organic molecules in the galaxy

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists within the New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have compiled years of research to help locate areas in outer space that have extreme potential for ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Rocky planets could have been born as gas giants

When NASA announced the discovery of over 1,200 new potential planets spotted by the Kepler Space Telescope, almost a quarter of them were thought to be Super-Earths. Now, new research suggests that these ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 16, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 38

Earth-bound asteroids come from stony asteroids, new studies confirm

Researchers got their first up-close look at dust from the surface of a small, stony asteroid after the Hayabusa spacecraft scooped some up and brought it back to Earth. Analysis of these dust particles, detailed ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Aug 25, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Meteorite holds clues to organic chemistry of the early Earth: study

(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbonaceous chondrites are a type of organic-rich meteorite that contain samples of the materials that took part in the creation of our planets nearly 4.6 billion years ago, including materials ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 09, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Oxygen isotope analysis tells of the wandering life of a dust grain 4.5 billion years ago

Scientists have performed a micro-probe analysis of the core and outer layers of a pea-sized piece of a meteorite some 4.57 billion years old to reconstruct the history of its formation, providing the first ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Mar 03, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 13 | with audio podcast

Cassini to probe Rhea for clues to Saturn rings

(PhysOrg.com) -- Saturn's icy moon Rhea might seem a strange place to look for clues to understanding the vast majestic rings encircling Saturn. But that's what NASA's Cassini spacecraft plans to do on its ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 11, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Earth's dust tail points to alien planets

Did you know that the Earth has a dust tail? The Spitzer Space Telescope sailed right through it a few months ago, giving researchers a clear idea of what it looks like. That could be a big help to planet ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 15, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (15) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Student dust counter breaks distance record on New Horizons mission to Pluto

A University of Colorado at Boulder space dust counter designed, tested and operated by students that is flying aboard NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto now holds the record for the most distant working ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 12, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Dust models paint alien's view of the solar system (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- New supercomputer simulations tracking the interactions of thousands of dust grains show what the solar system might look like to alien astronomers searching for planets. The models also provide ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 23, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Asteroid found in gravitational 'dead zone'

There are places in space where the gravitational tug between a planet and the Sun balance out, allowing other smaller bodies to remain stable. These places are called Lagrangian points. So-called Trojan asteroids ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Aug 12, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (15) | comments 0 | 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

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

'Ultra-primitive' particles found in comet dust

Dust samples collected by high-flying aircraft in the upper atmosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution. The stratospheric ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 2