Interstellar dust as a research area focuses on the physical, chemical, and optical properties of solid particles in the interstellar medium and their roles in astrophysical processes. This field investigates grain composition (e.g., silicates, carbonaceous materials, ices), size distributions, charge states, and surface chemistry, as well as how dust absorbs, scatters, and re-emits radiation, shaping extinction curves and infrared emission. Research examines dust formation and destruction in stellar outflows, shocks, and diffuse clouds, its role in molecular cloud cooling and star and planet formation, and its impact on cosmic abundances, radiative transfer, and observational diagnostics across the electromagnetic spectrum.
An international research team led by the University of Vienna has discovered that the solar system traversed the Orion star-forming complex, a component of the Radcliffe Wave galactic structure, approximately 14 million ...
Astronomy
Feb 25, 2025
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An international team led by astronomers at Leiden University has shown in laboratory experiments that sulfur can bind with ammonium under icy cosmic conditions and form a salt that sticks to dust and pebbles. The resulting ...
Astronomy
Jan 16, 2025
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Astronomers have long tried to track down how elements like carbon, which is essential for life, become widely distributed across the universe. Now, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has examined one ongoing source of carbon-rich ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2025
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In a new study, a team of astrophysicists led by CU Boulder has set out to unravel the mysteries of UFOs—not the alien spacecraft, but a class of unusually large and red galaxies that researchers have nicknamed Ultra-red ...
Astronomy
Nov 21, 2024
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A team led by researchers at MIT has discovered that a distant interstellar cloud contains an abundance of pyrene, a type of large, carbon-containing molecule known as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH).
Astrobiology
Oct 24, 2024
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Evidence suggests that carbon nanotubes, tiny tubes consisting of pure carbon, could be forged in the envelopes of dust and gas surrounding dying stars. The findings propose a simple, yet elegant mechanism for the formation ...
Nanophysics
Jun 17, 2022
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