Interplanetary dust as a research area focuses on the origin, composition, dynamics, and evolution of micron- to millimeter-sized solid particles distributed throughout the Solar System. Studies integrate in situ spacecraft measurements, zodiacal light observations, infrared and submillimeter astronomy, laboratory analysis of collected particles (e.g., micrometeorites), and dynamical modeling of dust production and transport. Key topics include dust sources (comets, asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects), Poynting–Robertson drag, radiation pressure, collisions, and interactions with the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. This field constrains planetary system formation, surface weathering processes, and the distribution of organic and volatile materials in planetary environments.
Venus, often called Earth's twin, is in fact a planet of extremes. Beneath its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere are crushing surface temperatures and dense clouds of sulfuric acid. While the planet's main cloud layer sits ...
Planetary Sciences
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Across Earth, every night, thousands of automated stargazers are waiting to take pictures of shooting stars. I am one of the scientists who study these meteors.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 13, 2026
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A Sydney Ph.D. student has recreated a tiny piece of the universe inside a bottle in her laboratory, producing cosmic dust from scratch. The results shed new light on how the chemical building blocks of life may have formed ...
Astronomy
Feb 2, 2026
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You can't see, feel, hear, taste or smell them, but tiny particles from space are constantly raining down on us.
General Physics
Jan 7, 2026
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The Cassini probe took its final orbits, referred to as the Grand Finale Orbits (GFOs), in 2017, before launching itself into Saturn's atmosphere. During these GFOs, the probe collected samples of dust above and below Saturn's ...
Tiny particles of space dust could be vital for creating the complex molecules needed for life more quickly, scientists say.
Astrobiology
Nov 24, 2025
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The moon has no significant atmosphere, no weather, and no wind. Yet it faces an invisible bombardment more relentless than any terrestrial storm, a constant rain of micrometeoroids, tiny fragments of rock and metal traveling ...
Space Exploration
Nov 12, 2025
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The Orionids—one of two major meteor showers caused by remnants from Halley's comet—will peak with the arrival of a new moon, providing an excellent opportunity to see shooting stars without interference from moonlight.
Space Exploration
Oct 17, 2025
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150
Earth is so far the only known planet on which life exists—with liquid water and a stable atmosphere. However, the conditions were not conducive to life when it formed. The gas-dust cloud from which all the planets in the ...
Astrobiology
Aug 28, 2025
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Since the beginning of Earth's history, tiny particles of rock and metal from space have been hitting our planet. On clear nights, we can even see their traces as shooting stars. Trapped in layers of rock, these micrometeorites ...
Astrobiology
Jul 29, 2025
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