NASA scientists working at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California have been able to recreate grains of dust similar to the outer layer of dying stars, called interstellar dust, which accumulates to form planets. Since the development of the Cosmic Simulation Chamber, the harsh conditions of space including gas-phase environments, interstellar clouds, planetary atmospheres, and stellar envelopes can be explored by scientists.
NASA scientists working at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California have been able to recreate grains of dust similar to the interstellar dust making up the outer layer of dying stars, which later accumulate to form planets.
The Cosmic Simulation Chamber allows scientists to reconstruct and explore the harsh conditions of space including gas-phase environments like interstellar clouds, planetary atmospheres, and stellar envelopes.
The Chamber uses a system that expands gas through the use of a cold jet spray of argon gas with hydrocarbons that lower the temperature of the molecules to mimic the extreme environments created in space.
Using this system, scientists can study the formation, structure and distribution of star dust for the first time.
Farid Salama, project leader and a space science researcher at Ames Research Center, is quoted as saying: “Today we are celebrating a major milestone in our understanding of the formation and the nature of cosmic dust grains that bears important implications in this new era of exoplanets discoveries.”
Results from the study will be used to help experts understand the formation and evolution of planets, along with helping them interpret astronomical data that has already been collected by international observatories.
