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Credit & Copyright: E. L. Wright
(UCLA)
Explanation:
Our universe is a very dusty place.
Dust
usually shows its presence by blocking out light emitted from
stars or nebulae behind it,
sometimes creating the illusion of a
horse's head
or a sombrero hat.
But nobody really knows what a typical
interstellar dust grain
looks like. By studying how
dust
absorbs, emits, and reflects
light, astronomers do know that interstellar
dust is much different
than the cell and lint based dust found around a typical house.
Interstellar dust grains are composed mostly of carbon, silicon, and oxygen
and are usually less than about
1/1000 of a millimeter across.
Recent work indicates that most dust grains are not spherical.
The above picture shows the result of a fractal adhesion model
for dust grains involving random conglomerates
of spherical compounds of different properties,
here artificially highlighted by different colors.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: dust - interstellar medium
Publications with words: dust - interstellar medium
See also: