1. Interstellar dust. Evidence for interstellar origin of seven dust particles collected by the Stardust spacecraft.
- Author
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Westphal AJ, Stroud RM, Bechtel HA, Brenker FE, Butterworth AL, Flynn GJ, Frank DR, Gainsforth Z, Hillier JK, Postberg F, Simionovici AS, Sterken VJ, Nittler LR, Allen C, Anderson D, Ansari A, Bajt S, Bastien RK, Bassim N, Bridges J, Brownlee DE, Burchell M, Burghammer M, Changela H, Cloetens P, Davis AM, Doll R, Floss C, Grün E, Heck PR, Hoppe P, Hudson B, Huth J, Kearsley A, King AJ, Lai B, Leitner J, Lemelle L, Leonard A, Leroux H, Lettieri R, Marchant W, Ogliore R, Ong WJ, Price MC, Sandford SA, Sans Tresseras JA, Schmitz S, Schoonjans T, Schreiber K, Silversmit G, Solé VA, Srama R, Stadermann F, Stephan T, Stodolna J, Sutton S, Trieloff M, Tsou P, Tyliszczak T, Vekemans B, Vincze L, Von Korff J, Wordsworth N, Zevin D, and Zolensky ME
- Abstract
Seven particles captured by the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector and returned to Earth for laboratory analysis have features consistent with an origin in the contemporary interstellar dust stream. More than 50 spacecraft debris particles were also identified. The interstellar dust candidates are readily distinguished from debris impacts on the basis of elemental composition and/or impact trajectory. The seven candidate interstellar particles are diverse in elemental composition, crystal structure, and size. The presence of crystalline grains and multiple iron-bearing phases, including sulfide, in some particles indicates that individual interstellar particles diverge from any one representative model of interstellar dust inferred from astronomical observations and theory., (Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)
- Published
- 2014
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