Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
A Piece of Interplanetary Dust
Explanation:
The dust that pervades our Solar System is not the dust that pervades our homes. Solar System [ http://www.nineplan…] dust comes from comets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and asteroids [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], whereas house dust [ http://www.ag.ohio-…] is most likely lint or dead cells. Pictured above [ http://stardust.jpl…] is a piece of interplanetary dust [ http://www.astro.wa…] caught by a high-flying U2 [ http://142.26.194.1…]-type aircraft. It likely originates in the early days of our Solar System [ http://www.fourmila…], being stored and later ejected by a passing comet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The particle is composed of glass [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], carbon [ http://pearl1.lanl.…], and a conglomeration of silicate mineral grains [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. It measures only 10 microns [ http://www.physlink…] across, a tenth the width of a typical human hair [ http://library.thin…]. NASA's STARDUST [ http://stardust.jpl…] mission, launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in 1999, is scheduled to pass through the tail of Comet Wild 2 in 2004 and return [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] many more interstellar dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] samples to Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in 2006.
Credit and Copyright:
NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
keyword:
dust
keyword:
comet
keyword:
interplanetary dust
facet_when:
1999
facet_when:
2004
facet_when:
2006
facet_where:
Washington
facet_where:
Ohio
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
COMETS
facet_what:
Stardust
facet_when_year:
1999
facet_when_year:
2004
facet_when_year:
2006
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap010813

A Piece of Interplanetary Dust
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