#cosmic dust

[per-asperaa-ad-astra]

Billions of stars, how many unimaginable worlds ? How do they perceive time and space ? How do they define and express art ? What is love for them ? What drives their pursuit of knowledge and understanding ? What existential questions intrigue them ? I wonder, a lot.

[spacecdt]

Infrared image of the Helix Nebula taken by the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope in 2007. This cosmic starlet is often photographed by astronomers for its vivid colors and resemblance to an eye.

(©)

[discordiansamba]

the thing about cosmic dust is that Pidge and Keith did not, in fact, set out to be space pirates and just sort of accidentally fell into it (though they did not put up much resistance) but literally no one believes them. Even the people who know them well. Especially the people who know them well.

[apurbopulok]

Thousands of tons of cosmic dust are estimated to reach the Earth's surface every year, with most grains having a mass between 10−16 kg (0.1 pg) and 10−4 kg (0.1 g). The density of the dust cloud through which the Earth is traveling is approximately 10−6 dust grains/m3.

The best spots to look for and find the extra-terrestrial dust particles are surfaces with little vegetation and erosion, where, once landed, they remain collectable for a long time: for example on ice surfaces in the Antarctic or on the seabed. Researchers from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and the Freie Universität Berlin now want to tap a new source of the scientifically very valuable material. They are counting on the active support of Berlin citizens.

Cosmic crumbs

“We want to collect micrometeorites, they are usually less than one millimetre in size, from Berlin roofs,” says project manager Lutz Hecht. The idea has already proven successful: The researchers extracted 63 micrometeorites from many kilogrammes of dust from a roof area of around 5000 square metres. They are now identifying further roofs, which could be good places to find more due to their location and nature.

At the selected locations, the material is swept together and the particles from 0.1 to 0.8 millimetres in size are sifted out. Magnetically reacting particles are then extracted from these. The yield is washed, light particles discarded and the remaining material is dried and examined under microscopes. “This is a very time-consuming task that requires the help of volunteers who help us picking out the interesting objects,” says Hecht.

Whether the interesting objects actually are micrometeorites will be checked with an electron microscope. The museum’ geochemical and microanalytical laboratories are equipped for analysis

[persephones-domain]

We are made of Star Dust

Though the overwhelming majority of humanity has never grazed the cosmic void, our atoms derive from deep space.

Almost every atom within each of us was once actually part of a nebula - The exact same atoms that build our bodies, were created by stars.

Giant stars, far larger than our Sun, veer towards a dramatic death at the final stages of their spectacular existence - The remainder of a star's energy then irradiates gas and dust that collect all around it, generating new elements that will enrich the atmosphere from which future stars and planets can eventually form.

So over the course of billions of years, these atoms are "recycled" into an uncountable number of different things, in all possible configurations, from simple table salt (NaCl) to our own, very complex, helical DNA that make us uniquely...Us.

But it's always the very same atoms produced in these colossal stellar deaths: matter that dying stars shed from their external layers during the last phase of their life.

And what we're witnessing is death and rebirth on the cosmic scale!

The intense radiation from the star's final explosion then contributes, through collisions of all those atoms in the outer layers, to form heavier atoms (almost everything from Iron (Fe) onwards on the periodic table).

Without supernovae, none of what we have around us would exist!

What then remains in the centre depends on the mass of the star - some supernova events leave behind a super-dense neutron star, while other more massive stars leave behind black holes.

This is the dust (all atoms except hydrogen and helium) inside the giant star-forming region known as the Pillars of Creation, about 6,500 light-years away (source: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScl)

They are, in turn, part of a much larger region called the Eagle Nebula, a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, part of a diffuse emission nebula, or H II region.

This image here was taken by the camera of the James Webb Space Telescope, at infrared wavelengths.

Within its depths, are a myriad of protostars and early stars in formation.

[8infinite-space8]

Cosmic dust under a microscope 🔬

Cosmic dust – also called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dust – is dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 μm), such as micrometeoroids. Larger particles are called meteoroids.

[timbercow]

Another star wrapped in dust.

[alecialuescher1960blog]

[sciencerevolution]

Kent scientists climb cathedral roofs to collect cosmic dust

As they clamber up cathedral walls wearing vacuum cleaner backpacks, the researchers look more like ghostbusters than planetary scientists. But for the team at the University of Kent, the equipment is crucial for collecting cosmic dust that becomes stranded on the ancient roofs after falling to Earth from space.

[scarlettadablog]

[dominimoonbeam]

i write stuff.

Adult stuff. Between the angst, violence, and steam, just always assume what I’m writing is adult stuff. Feel free to check the tags, even on the novellas!

My fics over on AO3. Mostly Redacted ASMR, 19 Days, and Old Guard, along with some older Covenant and Nightwing fics. 

My novellas on amazon and smashwords, equally romantic and prone to hurt/comfort. I’ve got some contemporary and some sci-fi because I can’t resist a little ride or die in space.

Goodreads.

Doors artwork by @taelonsamada​ <3 It makes my heart swoon.

Found Between Stars artwork by @slushrottweiler​ <3 I love it so much!

Cosmic Dust art by @slushrottweiler​! I can’t stop staring at it. <3

Everton Series - Contemporary Romances

Doors. Noelle/Levi - published

With a Halo. Kelly/Bennet - published

Don't Touch My Stuff. August/Aurelio - coming soon!

Irene/Connie - plotting

Pearl/Noah - plotting

Honest Liars - Mobster Romances

Don't Run. Adi/Ezra/Freya - in progress, available on patreon

Don't Fall.

Don't Confess.

Don't Leave.

Defying Gravity Series - Sci Fi Romances

Found Between Stars. Josephine/Atlas - published

Cosmic Dust. Ghazi/Amaya/Tetsu - published

Stargazing Underground. Verona/Iris - published

To The Edge Of Space. Stardust/Cosmic - writing

Galaxies Lost. June/Khan/Mehdi - outlined

House of Teeth Series - Modern Fantasy Romances

Ruby and the Wolf. Ruby/Liang - short story. published

Bite to Bruise. Wren/Ever - in progress, available on patreon

[nostradamur]

some cosmic dust for good luck ✨

The Horsehead Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson & Martin Pugh, SSRO, PROMPT, CTIO, NSF

[krone-art]

My last Ingo piece I think.

I tried to do a splash art but failed, so I decided that I was still going to finish it even if it failed.

Got some crits and pointers where I need to practice more, and that’s what I’ll be doing from now on.

Will present the preparation artwork aswell, for anyone that’s interested. It changed over the time, but the core theme is still represented. Was quite fun, but for now I’ll be doing smaller practice pieces.

[discordiansamba]

cosmic dust has 420 (public) bookmarks. it's what keith and pidge would want.

[ladybirdaura]

hair // stealthic - tender @ equal10 | february 2023 head // lelutka - siwa skin // avarosa - salvy top // hime*dream - olivia top @ equal10 | february 2023 skirt // palette - mimi skirt @ equal10 | february 2023 bag // lyrium - love fluffy bag @ equal10 | february 2023 candy // cosmic dust - razor blade lollipop pose // lyrium - rain, 4 @ equal10 | february 2023

Here’s an unedited close up of the head cause it’s just so purdy ♥

[yusufalioglu]

The Start of Something New by Yusuf Alioğlu Via Flickr: The Start of Something New Planet Dokeia Interplanetary Travel And I'm on the verge of saying goodbye again. We have come to the end of another adventure together again. We still haven't found the Plunonians. Unfortunately, I have not encountered any civilization on this planet, which I have visited and named Dokeia, on which I have lived for a while. I was quite surprised that I did not encounter a civilization on this planet suitable for life. Just like the other life-friendly planets I have visited, the planet Dokeia was one of the abandoned habitable planets. Why were these habitable planets abandoned? What was the force that drove the civilizations living on it to leave these planets? These are questions that I still don't know the answers to. I have not encountered any negatives so far. When I find lost civilizations, I think I will have learned the answers to these questions. If I can find them. When I started space travel, while I was looking for a planet suitable for life, the fact that I found dozens of planets suitable for life and that they were all abandoned frightened me. What could be the power that frightened entire civilizations to leave their planets? The prospect of encountering this power in my interplanetary travels frightened me. What could I do alone in the face of the force that pushed huge civilizations to abandon their planets? In order to overcome my fears, I stop asking myself some questions. And I don't pay attention to every detail. Otherwise, my interplanetary journey might come to an end. I don't want to go back to my planet until I complete this mission I've been on. Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X7i Photograph by Yusuf Alioglu Location: Outer space (space) Facebook Become a Patron! Twitter Youtube Instagram iStock Blogger Vimeo UnbornArt deviantART Tumblr Check out this portfolio on Shutterstock!