Shocking news about dust grains
Monday, January 7, 2013 - 07:00
in Astronomy & Space
(Phys.org)—The ubiquitous clouds of gas and dust found between stars provide the natal material for new stars and planets. These clouds are also dynamic factories that produce many complex molecules thanks to their rich environment of stellar radiation, dense gas, and dust grains. The grains (most of which are silicates, analogous to sand) act as miniature chemical laboratories. Atoms and molecules from the gas condense onto their surfaces and then interact with one another to form even more complex species. Water, a particularly abundant species, tends to form a layer of ice on the grain surfaces.