Sentences with phrase «comet dust»
"Comet dust" refers to tiny particles, like fine powder or sand, that come from comets. Comets are objects in space made of ice and rock. When comets get close to the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, releasing the dust particles into space. These particles can travel through the solar system and sometimes reach Earth, where they can be studied by scientists. Full definition
This mix of components does not match current models of comet dust.
scientificamerican.com
The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer directly sampled and determined the composition of comet dust in Mars» atmosphere, something that has never been done before.
The atmosphere of Mars, though much thinner that Earth's, will shield NASA Mars rovers Opportunity and Curiosity from comet dust, if any reaches the planet.
For example, another research team has already analyzed the gas and dust emitted by Wild 2, and astronomers look forward to January 2006 when a Stardust capsule containing thousands of comet dust particles will return to Earth for more thorough investigation.
In 2009, scientists reported that they had found the simplest amino acid, glycine, in comet dust brought back by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, but it's possible those samples were contaminated with dust from Earth.
Data from NASA's NEOWISE mission are giving new insights into comet dust, nucleus sizes, and production rates for difficult - to - observe gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
NASA's Stardust spacecraft captures the first - ever comet dust samples, along with close - up views of the pockmarked comet Wild 2.
- The giant radio telescopes of NASA's Deep Space Network — which perform radio and radar astronomy research in addition to their communications functions — were tasked with observing radio emissions from Jupiter's radiation belt, looking for disturbances caused by comet dust.
«Your backyard collected more comet dust over the last seven years than we did,» says Donald Brownlee of the University of Washington at Seattle, principal investigator on the Stardust mission.
MAVEN also was able to directly sample and help scientists determine the composition of some of the vaporized comet dust in Mars» atmosphere.
«The team was so fortunate to pick such a great comet,» says Donald Brownlee of the University of Washington in Seattle, who led NASA's Stardust mission to bring comet dust back to Earth.
Why is comet dust cropping up in Antarctica?
The Materials Library, which is due to open this week, includes crying metals, a sponge for comet dust, living concrete — and the contents of a handcuffed Texan's briefcase.
They hoped to nudge the lander into sunlight or at least shake several months of comet dust off its solar panels.
Interestingly, NASA scientists have even found PQQ in the interstellar comet dust particles that were brought back by a probe years ago!
This artist's concept shows NASA's Mars orbiters lining up behind the Red Planet for their «duck and cover» maneuver to shield them from comet dust that may result from the close flyby of comet Siding Spring (C / 2013 A1) on Oct. 19, 2014.
NASA regularly loans moon rocks, meteorites and samples of comet dust to museums, researchers, educators and institutions around the world.
Earth is surrounded by a cloud of debris, both natural — such as micrometeorites and comet dust, which create meteor showers — and unnatural, including dead satellites and the cast - off detritus of space launches.
If they look anything like the comet dust that Brownlee thinks he sees drifting into Earth's atmosphere, the particles should resemble exploded kernels of popcorn.
Material from the comet will spread, and some of that comet dust will hit our atmosphere on Jan. 12, when our planet passes through the edges of Comet ISON's trail.
That dust should be younger than comet dust, and Brownlee hopes to compare the two types.
And because Styrofoam is opaque, comet dust would be impossible to find.
Grains of comet dust will slice into the gel and briefly heat up tiny streaks to hundreds of degrees as they screech to a stop.
The researchers spent two years trying to find out — a painstaking task since there was so little of the comet dust to study.
«We also should be able to see if there are long - term effects from the comet dust in that same region of the atmosphere.»
More insights will undoubtedly come after January 15, 2006, when Stardust is scheduled to fly past Earth and drop its cache of comet dust.
Rosetta has a suite of 11 scientific instruments which will be used to analyze the gas of the coma, or atmosphere, and the tail, dust grain composition and distribution, comet dust, and the physical structure of the comet's nucleus.
In search of meteor showers, an airborne research mission indicates that the chemical precursors to life found in comet dust into early Earth's atmosphere.