page_title: Cosmic dust
hierarchical_section_title: Cosmic dust
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a scanning electron microscope image of an interplanetary dust particle that has roughly chondritic elemental composition and is highly rough (chondritic porous: "CP"). CP types are usually aggregates of large numbers of sub-micrometer grains, clustered in a random open order. The authors of this figure are Donald E. Brownlee, University of Washington, Seattle, and Elmar Jessberger, Institut für Planetologie, Münster, Germany. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ See the (Jessberger chapter in Grün, E., Gustafson, B.A.S., Dermott, S.F., Fechtig, H. (Eds.) Interplanetary Dust book for more details on this kind of dust particle. References E. K. Jessberger, T. Stephan, D. Rost, P. Arndt, M. Maetz, F. J. Stadermann, D. E. Brownlee, J. P. Bradley, G. Kurat (2001). Properties of Interplanetary Dust: Information from Collected Samples, in Grün, E., Gustafson, B.A.S., Dermott, S.F., Fechtig, H. (Eds.) Interplanetary Dust, pp. 253–294, Springer-Verlag.
context_page_description: Cosmic dust is a type of dust. It is very small crystals sent out from stars.
  It is formed when a star, such as the Sun, sends out atoms. Some of the atoms become ions by gaining or losing electrons and becoming negatively and positively charged. These oppositely charged ions form an ionic bond, sticking together in tiny crystals, a few thousand nanometres across, to form cosmic dust.
  Cosmic dust is found in various locations. Intergalactic dust is found between galaxies. Interstellar dust is found between stars. Dust clouds in these places are found by their blocking light from stars behind them, and by their own infrared radiation. Circumplanetary dust is found around planets and in planetary rings Interplanetary dust can be found between planets, and is seen as gegenschein and zodiacal light.
  The coming together of large amounts of dust over time leads to the creation of planets, the Earth, for example.
context_section_description: Cosmic dust (also known as star dust and space dust) is a type of dust. It is very small crystals sent out from stars.
  It is formed when a star, such as the Sun, sends out atoms. Some of the atoms become ions by gaining or losing electrons and becoming negatively and positively charged. These oppositely charged ions form an ionic bond, sticking together in tiny crystals, a few thousand nanometres across, to form cosmic dust.
  Cosmic dust is found in various locations. Intergalactic dust is found between galaxies. Interstellar dust is found between stars. Dust clouds in these places are found by their blocking light from stars behind them, and by their own infrared radiation. Circumplanetary dust is found around planets and in planetary rings Interplanetary dust can be found between planets, and is seen as gegenschein and zodiacal light.  
  The coming together of large amounts of dust over time leads to the creation of planets, the Earth, for example.
caption: Porous chondrite interplanetary dust
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