Space dust survey launched
Space dust lies between stars and should help scientists understand how the universe was formed
Also In The News
|
Didier Drogba was again on the scoresheet as the Ivory Coast beat Guinea 5-0 to reach the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations in Sekondi. |  |
Monday, 04, Feb 2008 01:40
Scientists are to use the biggest space telescope ever built to study icy cosmic dust millions of light years away from Earth.
Astronomers at the University of Nottingham say discovering how cosmic dust is created and how long it survives are "important pieces" in understanding how the universe was formed.
They will use the mirror on the Herschel space observatory to detect the 'glow' of space dust at about -250C, rather than the light from stars.
This dust is composed of tiny particles of carbon and silicates which are made in stars and then hang in interstellar space for hundreds of millions of years.
The particles are about 800 times smaller than the width of a human hair and are gently warmed by the starlight they absorb.
Researcher Dr Loretta Dunne described the survey as "a quantum leap in our understanding of dust in the local universe".
"Cosmic dust is more than just a nuisance to optical astronomers. It also plays an important role in helping hot gas to cool and collapse to form galaxies and stars, and is the raw building material for planets like our own," she added.
"The Earth is really a giant ball of cosmic dust! Discovering how dust is created, how long it survives and how much of it is out there, are important pieces of the puzzle of how the universe came to look the way it does."
The observations will take 600 hours spread over the three years.