Science and Space

space and astronomy articles.

Comet particles surprise scientists

Dust samples from a comet formed in deep space unexpectedly contain high-temperature mineral particles that may have been ejected by the young sun at the dawn of the solar system, scientists said Monday.

First-sample results from NASA’s Stardust mission suggest that scientists may have to modify the traditional view that comets are bodies of ice and dust composed largely of interstellar material on the outskirts of the solar system.

Instead, the sun, in a process not yet fully understood, may have catapulted material outward even as the "dust disk" that formed the solar system was swirling inward like a whirlpool with the sun at its center. "We have found fire and ice," Brownlee told reporters at the Johnson Space Center here.

 Early analysis revealed minerals that included magnesium iron silicate, known as olivine, or, in its gem-quality variety, peridot; magnesium aluminum oxide, also called spinel; and titanium nitride. All these form at temperatures of at least 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

posted by: kyawoo at 06:16 | link | comments |
comets

Comments: