Hello. In this lecture, we will talk to you about dust. But not about the one that accumulates in your rooms, but about cosmic dust. What is it?

Space dust is very small particles of solid matter found in any part of the universe, including meteoritic dust and interstellar matter that can absorb starlight and form dark nebulae in galaxies. Spherical dust particles about 0.05 mm in diameter are found in some marine sediments; it is believed that these are the remains of those 5,000 tons of cosmic dust that annually fall on the globe.

Scientists believe that cosmic dust is formed not only from the collision, the destruction of small solid bodies, but also due to the thickening of interstellar gas. Cosmic dust is distinguished by its origin: dust is intergalactic, interstellar, interplanetary and circumplanetary (usually in a ring system).

Cosmic dust grains arise mainly in the slowly expiring atmospheres of red dwarf stars, as well as in explosive processes on stars and in the rapid ejection of gas from the nuclei of galaxies. Other sources of cosmic dust are planetary and protostellar nebulae, stellar atmospheres, and interstellar clouds.

Entire clouds of cosmic dust, which are in the layer of stars that form the Milky Way, prevent us from observing distant star clusters. A star cluster like the Pleiades is completely submerged in a dust cloud. The brightest stars that are in this cluster illuminate the dust, as a lantern illuminates the fog at night. Cosmic dust can only shine by reflected light.

Blue rays of light passing through cosmic dust are attenuated more than red ones, so the light of stars reaching us appears yellowish and even reddish. Entire regions of world space remain closed to observation precisely because of cosmic dust.

Interplanetary dust, at least in comparative proximity to the Earth, is a fairly well-studied matter. Filling the entire space of the solar system and concentrated in the plane of its equator, it was born for the most part as a result of random collisions of asteroids and the destruction of comets approaching the Sun. The composition of dust, in fact, does not differ from the composition of meteorites falling to the Earth: it is very interesting to study it, and there are still a lot of discoveries to be made in this area, but there seems to be no particular intrigue here. But thanks to this particular dust, in fine weather in the west immediately after sunset or in the east before sunrise, you can admire a pale cone of light above the horizon. This is the so-called zodiacal - sunlight scattered by small cosmic dust particles.

Much more interesting is interstellar dust. Its distinctive feature is the presence of a solid core and shell. The core appears to consist mainly of carbon, silicon, and metals. And the shell is mainly made of gaseous elements frozen on the surface of the nucleus, crystallized in the conditions of “deep freezing” of interstellar space, and this is about 10 kelvins, hydrogen and oxygen. However, there are impurities of molecules in it and more complicated. These are ammonia, methane, and even polyatomic organic molecules that stick to a grain of dust or form on its surface during wanderings. Some of these substances, of course, fly away from its surface, for example, under the action of ultraviolet radiation, but this process is reversible - some fly away, others freeze or are synthesized.

If the galaxy has formed, then where does the dust come from - in principle, scientists understand. Its most significant sources are novae and supernovae, which lose part of their mass, "dumping" the shell into the surrounding space. In addition, dust is also born in the expanding atmosphere of red giants, from where it is literally swept away by radiation pressure. In their cool, by the standards of stars, atmosphere (about 2.5 - 3 thousand kelvins) there are quite a lot of relatively complex molecules.
But here's a mystery that hasn't been solved yet. It has always been believed that dust is a product of the evolution of stars. In other words, stars must be born, exist for some time, grow old and, say, produce dust in the last supernova explosion. What came first, the egg or the chicken? The first dust necessary for the birth of a star, or the first star, which for some reason was born without the help of dust, grew old, exploded, forming the very first dust.
What was in the beginning? After all, when the Big Bang happened 14 billion years ago, there were only hydrogen and helium in the Universe, no other elements! It was then that the first galaxies, huge clouds, and in them the first stars began to emerge from them, which had to go a long way in life. Thermonuclear reactions in the cores of stars were supposed to “weld” more complex chemical elements, turn hydrogen and helium into carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and so on, and only after that the star had to throw it all into space, exploding or gradually dropping the shell. Then this mass had to cool, cool down and, finally, turn into dust. But already 2 billion years after the Big Bang, in the earliest galaxies, there was dust! With the help of telescopes, it was discovered in galaxies that are 12 billion light years away from ours. At the same time, 2 billion years is too short a period for the full life cycle of a star: during this time, most stars do not have time to grow old. Where the dust came from in the young Galaxy, if there should be nothing but hydrogen and helium, is a mystery.

Looking at the time, the professor smiled slightly.

But you will try to unravel this mystery at home. Let's write the task.

Homework.

1. Try to reason about what appeared first, the first star or is it still dust?

Additional task.

1. Report about any kind of dust (interstellar, interplanetary, circumplanetary, intergalactic)

2. Composition. Imagine yourself as a scientist assigned to investigate space dust.

3. Pictures.

homemade task for students:

1. Why is dust needed in space?

Additional task.

1. Report about any kind of dust. Former students of the school remember the rules.

2. Composition. Disappearance of cosmic dust.

3. Pictures.

Where does cosmic dust come from? Our planet is surrounded by a dense air shell - the atmosphere. The composition of the atmosphere, in addition to the well-known gases, also includes solid particles - dust.

Basically, it consists of soil particles rising up under the influence of wind. During volcanic eruptions, powerful dust clouds are often observed. Entire "dust caps" hang over large cities, reaching a height of 2-3 km. The number of dust particles in one cube. cm of air in cities reaches 100 thousand pieces, while in the clean mountain air they contain only a few hundred. However, dust of terrestrial origin rises to relatively small heights - up to 10 km. Volcanic dust can reach a height of 40-50 km.

Origin of cosmic dust

The presence of dust clouds at a height significantly exceeding 100 km has been established. These are the so-called "silver clouds", consisting of cosmic dust.

The origin of cosmic dust is extremely diverse: it includes the remains of decayed comets, and particles of matter ejected by the Sun and brought to us by the force of light pressure.

Naturally, under the influence of gravity, a significant part of these cosmic dust particles slowly settles to the earth. The presence of such cosmic dust has been detected on high snowy peaks.

meteorites

In addition to this slowly settling cosmic dust, hundreds of millions of meteors burst into the confines of our atmosphere every day - what we call "shooting stars". Flying at an cosmic speed of hundreds of kilometers per second, they burn out from friction against air particles before they reach the surface of the earth. The products of their combustion also settle to the ground.

However, among the meteors there are exceptionally large specimens that reach the surface of the earth. Thus, the fall of the large Tunguska meteorite at 5 am on June 30, 1908 is known, accompanied by a number of seismic phenomena noted even in Washington (9 thousand km from the place of impact) and indicating the power of the explosion during the fall of the meteorite. Professor Kulik, who examined the meteorite impact site with exceptional courage, found a thicket of windbreak surrounding the impact site within a radius of hundreds of kilometers. Unfortunately, the meteorite was not found. An employee of the British Museum Kirpatrick made a special trip to the USSR in 1932, but did not even get to the place where the meteorite fell. However, he confirmed the assumption of Professor Kulik, who estimated the mass of the fallen meteorite at 100-120 tons.

Space dust cloud

The hypothesis of academician V. I. Vernadsky is interesting, who considered it possible that not a meteorite could fall, but a huge cloud of cosmic dust moving at an enormous speed.

Academician Vernadsky confirmed his hypothesis by the appearance these days of a large number of luminous clouds moving at high altitude at a speed of 300-350 km per hour. This hypothesis could also explain the fact that the trees surrounding the meteorite crater remained standing, while those located further were knocked down by the blast wave.

In addition to the Tunguska meteorite, a number of craters of meteorite origin are also known. The first of these surveyed craters can be called the Arizona crater in the "Devil's Canyon". Interestingly, not only fragments of an iron meteorite were found near it, but also small diamonds formed from carbon from high temperature and pressure during the fall and explosion of a meteorite.
In addition to these craters, indicating the fall of huge meteorites weighing tens of tons, there are also smaller craters: in Australia, on Ezel Island and a number of others.

In addition to large meteorites, quite a lot of smaller ones fall annually - weighing from 10-12 grams to 2-3 kilograms.

If the Earth were not protected by a dense atmosphere, every second we would be bombarded by the smallest cosmic particles, rushing at a speed exceeding the speed of a bullet.

: It should not be at cosmic speeds, but there is.
If a car is driving along the road and another one butts it in the ass, then it will only slightly grind its teeth. And if at the same speed oncoming or sideways? There is a difference.
Now, let's say that it's the same in space, the Earth rotates in one direction and along the way, the garbage of Phaeton or something else is spinning. Then there may be a soft descent.

I was surprised by the very large number of observations of the appearance of comets in the 19th century. Here are some statistics:

Clickable

A meteorite with fossilized remains of living organisms. The conclusion is fragments from the planet. Phaeton?

huan_de_vsad in his article Symbols of the medals of Peter the Great pointed out a very interesting excerpt from the Pismovnik of 1818, where, among other things, there is a small note about the comet of 1680:

In other words, it was this comet that a certain Wiston attributed to the body that caused the Flood described in the Bible. Those. in this theory, the global flood was in 2345 BC. It should be noted that there are a lot of dates associated with the Flood.

This comet was observed from December 1680 to February 1681 (7188). It was at its brightest in January.

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5elena4 : “Almost in the middle ... of the sky above Prechistensky Boulevard, surrounded, sprinkled on all sides with stars, but differing from all in proximity to the earth, white light and a long tail raised upwards, stood a huge bright comet of 1812, the very comet that foreshadowed, as they said, all sorts of horrors and the end of the world.

L. Tolstoy on behalf of Pierre Bezukhov, passing through Moscow ("War and Peace"):

At the entrance to the Arbat Square, a huge expanse of starry dark sky opened up to Pierre's eyes. Almost in the middle of this sky over Prechistensky Boulevard, surrounded, sprinkled on all sides with stars, but differing from all in proximity to the earth, white light, and a long tail raised up, stood a huge bright comet of 1812, the same comet that foreshadowed , as they said, all sorts of horrors and the end of the world. But in Pierre, this bright star with a long radiant tail did not arouse any terrible feeling. Opposite, Pierre joyfully, with eyes wet with tears, looked at this bright star, which, as if, having flown immeasurable spaces along a parabolic line with inexpressible speed, suddenly, like an arrow piercing the ground, slammed here into one place chosen by it, in the black sky, and stopped, vigorously lifting her tail up, shining and playing with her white light between countless other twinkling stars. It seemed to Pierre that this star fully corresponded to what was in his soul, which blossomed towards a new life, softened and encouraged.

L. N. Tolstoy. "War and Peace". Volume II. Part V. Chapter XXII

The comet hovered over Eurasia for 290 days and is considered the largest comet in history.

Vicki calls it "the comet of 1811" because it passed its perihelion in that year. And in the next one it was very clearly visible from the Earth. Everyone especially mentions the excellent grapes and wine of that year. Harvest is associated with a comet. "Fault comet splashed current" - from "Eugene Onegin".

In the work of V. S. Pikul "To each his own":

“Champagne surprised the Russians with the poverty of the inhabitants and the wealth of the wine cellars. Napoleon was still preparing a campaign against Moscow, when the world was stunned by the appearance of the brightest comet, under the sign of which Champagne in 1811 gave an unprecedented harvest of large juicy grapes. Now the effervescent "vin de la comete" Russian Cossacks; taken away in buckets and given to drink to the exhausted horses - for invigoration: - Lakay, twig! Not far from Paris...
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This is an engraving dated 1857, that is, the artist depicted not the impression of the impending danger, but the danger itself. And it seems to me that the picture is a cataclysm. Those catastrophic events on Earth that were associated with the appearance of comets are presented. Napoleon's soldiers took the appearance of this comet as a bad sign. In addition, she really hung in the sky for an ugly long time. According to some reports, up to a year and a half.

It turned out that the diameter of the comet's head - the nucleus, together with the diffuse foggy atmosphere surrounding it - the coma - is larger than the diameter of the Sun (still the comet 1811 I remains the largest of all known). The length of its tail reached 176 million kilometers. The famous English astronomer W. Herschel describes the shape of the tail as "... an inverted empty cone of yellowish color, which contrasts sharply with the bluish-greenish tone of the head." To some observers, the color of the comet appeared reddish, especially at the end of the third week of October, when the comet was very bright and shone in the sky all night.

At the same time, North America was shaking with a powerful earthquake near the city of New Madrid. As far as I understand, this is practically the center of the continent. Experts still do not understand what provoked that earthquake. According to one version, it occurred due to the gradual rise of the continent (?!)
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Very interesting information in this post: The real cause of the 1824 flood in St. Petersburg. It can be assumed that such winds in 1824. were caused by the fall somewhere in the desert area, say, Africa, of a large body or bodies, asteroids.
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A. Stepanenko ( chispa1707 ) there is information that mass insanity in the Middle Ages in Europe was caused by poisonous water from dust falling from the comet's tail to Earth. Can be found at this video
Or in this article
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The following facts also indirectly testify to the opacity of the atmosphere and the onset of cold weather in Europe:

The 17th century is marked as the Little Ice Age, it also had moderate periods with good summers with periods of intense heat.
However, winter gets a lot of attention in the book. In the years from 1691 to 1698, the winters were harsh and famine for Scandinavia. Before 1800, hunger was the greatest fear for the common man. In 1709 there was an exceptionally severe winter. It was the beauty of a cold wave. The temperature dropped to the extreme. Fahrenheit experimented with thermometers and Krukius made all temperature measurements in Delft. "Holland got hit hard. But especially Germany and France were hit by a cold, with temperatures up to - 30 degrees and the population got the biggest famine since the Middle Ages.
..........
Bayusman also says that he wondered if he would consider the beginning of the Little Ice Age 1550. In the end, he decided that this happened in 1430. A number of cold winters begin this year. After some fluctuations in temperature, the Little Ice Age begins from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century, ending around 1800.
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So could soil fall out of space, which turned into clay? This question will try to answer this information:

During the day, 400 tons of cosmic dust and 10 tons of meteorite matter fall to Earth from space. So reports the brief guide "Alpha and Omega" published in Tallinn in 1991. Considering that the surface area of ​​the Earth is 511 million sq. km., of which 361 million sq. km. - this is the surface of the oceans, we do not notice it.

According to other data:
Until now, scientists did not know the exact amount of dust that falls on Earth. It was believed that every day from 400 kg to 100 tons of this space debris falls on our planet. In recent studies, scientists have been able to calculate the amount of sodium in our atmosphere, and get accurate data. Since the amount of sodium in the atmosphere is equivalent to the amount of dust from space, it turned out that every day the Earth receives about 60 tons of additional pollution.

That is, this process is present, but at present, precipitation occurs in minimal quantities, insufficient to bring buildings.
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In favor of the theory of panspermia, according to scientists from Cardiff, says the analysis of samples of material from the comet Wild-2, collected by the Stardust spacecraft. He showed the presence in them of a number of complex hydrocarbon molecules. In addition, the study of the composition of comet Tempel-1 using the Deep Impact probe showed the presence of a mixture of organic compounds and clay in it. It is believed that the latter could serve as a catalyst for the formation of complex organic compounds from simple hydrocarbons.

Clay is a likely catalyst for the transformation of simple organic molecules into complex biopolymers on the early Earth. Now, however, Wickramasing and his colleagues argue that the total amount of clay environment on comets, favorable for the emergence of life, is many times greater than that of our own planet. (publication in the international astrobiological journal International Journal of Astrobiology).

According to new estimates, on the early Earth, the favorable environment was limited to a volume of about 10 thousand cubic kilometers, and a single comet 20 kilometers across could provide a "cradle" for life about one-tenth of its volume. If we take into account the contents of all the comets in the solar system (and there are billions of them), then the size of a suitable medium will be 1012 times larger than that of the Earth.

Of course, not all scientists agree with the conclusions of the Wickramasing group. For example, American comet expert Michael Mumma from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC, Maryland) believes that there is no way to talk about the presence of clay particles in all comets without exception (in samples of the comet Wild 2 (Wild 2), delivered to Earth by the NASA Stardust probe in January 2006, for example, they are not).

The following articles appear regularly in the press:

Thousands of drivers from the Zemplinsky region, bordering the Transcarpathian region, found their cars in parking lots with a thin film of yellow dust on Thursday morning. We are talking about the districts of the cities of Snina, Humennoe, Trebisov, Medzilaborce, Michalovce and Stropkov Vranovsky.
It is dust and sand that got into the clouds of eastern Slovakia, says Ivan Garčar, spokesman for the Hydrometeorological Institute of Slovakia. Strong winds in western Libya and Egypt, he said, began on Tuesday, May 28. Got into the air a large number of dust and sand. Such air currents dominated the Mediterranean, near southern Italy and northwestern Greece.
The next day, one part penetrated deep into the Balkans (eg Serbia) and northern Hungary, while the second part of the various dust streams from Greece returned to Turkey.
Such meteorological situations of sand and dust transfer from the Sahara are very rare in Europe, so it is not necessary to say that this phenomenon can become an annual event.

Cases of sand fallout are far from uncommon:

Residents of many regions of the Crimea today noted an unusual phenomenon: heavy rain was accompanied by small grains of sand of various colors - from gray to red. As it turned out, this is a consequence of dust storms in the Sahara desert, which brought the southern cyclone. Rains with sand passed, in particular, over Simferopol, Sevastopol, the Black Sea region.

An unusual snowfall took place in the Saratov region and the city itself: in some areas, residents noticed yellow-brown precipitation. Explanations of meteorologists: “Nothing supernatural is happening. Now the weather in our region is due to the influence of a cyclone that came from the southwest in our region. Air mass comes to us from North Africa through the Mediterranean and Black Seas, saturated with moisture. The air mass, dusty from the regions of the Sahara, received a portion of sand, and, having been enriched with moisture, it is now watering not only the European territory of Russia, but also the Crimean peninsula.

We add that colored snow has already caused a commotion in several Russian cities. For example, in 2007, residents of the Omsk region saw unusual orange precipitation. At their request, an examination was carried out, which showed that the snow was safe, it just had an excess of iron concentration, which caused the unusual color. In the same winter, yellowish snow was seen in the Tyumen region, and soon gray snow fell in Gorno-Altaisk. The analysis of the Altai snow revealed the presence of earthen dust in the sediments. Experts explained that this is a consequence of dust storms in Kazakhstan.
Note that snow can also be pink: for example, in 2006, snow the color of ripe watermelon fell in Colorado. Eyewitnesses claimed that it also tasted like watermelon. Similar reddish snow is found high in the mountains and in the circumpolar regions of the Earth, and its color is due to the mass reproduction of one of the species of chlamydomonas algae.

red rain
They are mentioned by ancient scientists and writers, for example, Homer, Plutarch, and medieval ones, such as Al-Gazen. The most famous rains of this kind fell:
1803, February - in Italy;
1813, February - in Calabria;
1838, April - in Algiers;
1842, March - in Greece;
1852, March - in Lyon;
1869, March - in Sicily;
1870, February - in Rome;
1887, June - in Fontainebleau.

They are also observed outside Europe, for example, on the islands of Cape Verde, on the Cape of Good Hope, etc. Blood rains come from the admixture of red dust to ordinary rains, consisting of the smallest organisms of red color. The birthplace of this dust is Africa, where it rises to great heights with strong winds and is carried by upper air currents to Europe. Hence its other name - "trade wind dust".

black rain
They appear due to the admixture of volcanic or cosmic dust to ordinary rains. On November 9, 1819, black rain fell in Montreal, Canada. A similar incident was also observed on August 14, 1888 at the Cape of Good Hope.

White (milk) rains
They are observed in those places where there are chalk rocks. The chalk dust is blown up and turns the raindrops milky white.
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Everything is explained by dust storms and raised masses of sand and dust into the atmosphere. Just a question: why are the places where sand falls out so selective? And how is this sand transported for thousands of kilometers without falling out along the way from the places of its rise? Even if a dust storm lifted tons of sand into the sky, it should begin to fall immediately as this vortex or front moves.
Or maybe the fallout of sandy, dusty soils (which we observe in the idea of ​​sandy loam and clay covering the cultural layers of the 19th century) continues? But only in incomparably smaller quantities? And earlier there were moments when the fallout was so large-scale and fast that it covered territories for meters. Then, under the rains, this dust turned into clay, sandy loam. And where there was a lot of rain, this mass turned into mudflows. Why is this not in history? Maybe due to the fact that people considered this phenomenon to be ordinary? Same dust storm. Now there is television, the Internet, a lot of newspapers. Information becomes public quickly. This used to be more difficult. The publicity of phenomena and events was not of such an informational scale.
While this is a version, because. there is no direct evidence. But, perhaps, one of the readers will offer more information?
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Cosmic dust on Earth is most often found in certain layers of the ocean floor, ice sheets of the polar regions of the planet, peat deposits, hard-to-reach places in the desert and meteorite craters. The size of this substance is less than 200 nm, which makes its study problematic.

Usually the concept of cosmic dust includes the delimitation of the interstellar and interplanetary varieties. However, all this is very conditional. The most convenient option for studying this phenomenon is the study of dust from space at the edges of the solar system or beyond.

The reason for this problematic approach to the study of the object is that the properties of extraterrestrial dust change dramatically when it is near a star such as the Sun.

Theories on the origin of cosmic dust

Streams of cosmic dust constantly attack the surface of the Earth. The question arises where this substance comes from. Its origin gives rise to many discussions among specialists in this field.

There are such theories of the formation of cosmic dust:

• Decay of celestial bodies. Some scientists believe that space dust is nothing more than the result of the destruction of asteroids, comets and meteorites.
• The remnants of a protoplanetary type cloud. There is a version according to which cosmic dust is referred to as microparticles of a protoplanetary cloud. However, such an assumption raises some doubts due to the fragility of a finely dispersed substance.
• The result of the explosion on the stars. As a result of this process, according to some experts, there is a powerful release of energy and gas, which leads to the formation of cosmic dust.
• Residual phenomena after the formation of new planets. The so-called construction "garbage" has become the basis for the occurrence of dust.

According to some studies, a certain part of the cosmic dust component predated the formation of the solar system, which makes this material even more interesting for further study. It is worth paying attention to this when evaluating and analyzing such an extraterrestrial phenomenon.

The main types of cosmic dust

There is currently no specific classification of cosmic dust types. Subspecies can be distinguished by visual characteristics and location of these microparticles.

Consider seven groups of cosmic dust in the atmosphere, different in external indicators:

1. Gray fragments of irregular shape. These are residual phenomena after the collision of meteorites, comets and asteroids no larger than 100-200 nm in size.
2. Particles of slag-like and ash-like formation. Such objects are difficult to identify solely by external signs, because they have undergone changes after passing through the Earth's atmosphere.
3. The grains are round in shape, which are similar in parameters to black sand. Outwardly, they resemble powder of magnetite (magnetic iron ore).
4. Small black circles with a characteristic sheen. Their diameter does not exceed 20 nm, which makes their study a painstaking task.
5. Larger balls of the same color with a rough surface. Their size reaches 100 nm and makes it possible to study their composition in detail.
6. Balls of a certain color with a predominance of black and white tones with inclusions of gas. These microparticles of cosmic origin consist of a silicate base.
7. Spheres of heterogeneous structure made of glass and metal. Such elements are characterized by microscopic dimensions within 20 nm.

According to the astronomical location, 5 groups of cosmic dust are distinguished:

• Dust found in intergalactic space. This type can distort the size of distances in certain calculations and is able to change the color of space objects.
• Formations within the Galaxy. The space within these limits is always filled with dust from the destruction of cosmic bodies.
• Matter concentrated between stars. It is most interesting due to the presence of a shell and a core of a solid consistency.
• Dust located near a certain planet. It is usually located in the ring system of a celestial body.
• Clouds of dust around the stars. They circle the orbital path of the star itself, reflecting its light and creating a nebula.

Three groups according to the total specific gravity of microparticles look like this:

1. metal group. Representatives of this subspecies have a specific gravity of more than five grams per cubic centimeter, and their basis consists mainly of iron.
2. silicate group. The base is clear glass with a specific gravity of approximately three grams per cubic centimeter.
3. Mixed group. The very name of this association indicates the presence of both glass and iron in the structure of microparticles. The base also includes magnetic elements.

Four groups according to the similarity of the internal structure of cosmic dust microparticles:

• Spherules with hollow filling. This species is often found in places where meteorites fall.
• Spherules of metal formation. This subspecies has a core of cobalt and nickel, as well as a shell that has oxidized.
• Spheres of uniform addition. Such grains have an oxidized shell.
• Balls with a silicate base. The presence of gas inclusions gives them the appearance of ordinary slags, and sometimes foam.

It should be remembered that these classifications are very arbitrary, but they serve as a certain guideline for designating types of dust from space.

Composition and characteristics of the components of cosmic dust

Let's take a closer look at what cosmic dust is made of. There is a problem in determining the composition of these microparticles. Unlike gaseous substances, solids have a continuous spectrum with relatively few bands that are blurred. As a result, the identification of cosmic dust grains is difficult.

The composition of cosmic dust can be considered on the example of the main models of this substance. These include the following subspecies:

1. Ice particles, the structure of which includes a core with a refractory characteristic. The shell of such a model consists of light elements. In particles of large size there are atoms with elements of magnetic property.
2. Model MRN, the composition of which is determined by the presence of silicate and graphite inclusions.
3. Oxide space dust, which is based on diatomic oxides of magnesium, iron, calcium and silicon.

General classification according to the chemical composition of cosmic dust:

• Balls with a metallic nature of education. The composition of such microparticles includes such an element as nickel.
• Metal balls with the presence of iron and the absence of nickel.
• Circles on a silicone basis.
• Irregular-shaped iron-nickel balls.

More specifically, you can consider the composition of cosmic dust on the example found in oceanic silt, sedimentary rocks and glaciers. Their formula will differ little from one another. Findings in the study of the seabed are balls with a silicate and metal base with the presence of such chemical elements as nickel and cobalt. Also, microparticles with the presence of aluminum, silicon and magnesium were found in the bowels of the water element.

Soils are fertile for the presence of cosmic material. A particularly large number of spherules were found in the places where meteorites fell. They were based on nickel and iron, as well as various minerals such as troilite, cohenite, steatite and other components.

Glaciers also hide aliens from outer space in the form of dust in their blocks. Silicate, iron and nickel serve as the basis for the found spherules. All mined particles were classified into 10 clearly demarcated groups.

Difficulties in determining the composition of the studied object and differentiating it from impurities of terrestrial origin leave this issue open for further research.

The influence of cosmic dust on life processes

The influence of this substance has not been fully studied by specialists, which provides great opportunities in terms of further activities in this direction. At a certain height, using rockets, they discovered a specific belt consisting of cosmic dust. This gives grounds to assert that such an extraterrestrial substance affects some of the processes occurring on planet Earth.

Influence of cosmic dust on the upper atmosphere

Recent studies suggest that the amount of cosmic dust can affect the change in the upper atmosphere. This process is very significant, because it leads to certain fluctuations in the climatic characteristics of planet Earth.

A huge amount of dust from the collision of asteroids fills the space around our planet. Its amount reaches almost 200 tons per day, which, according to scientists, cannot but leave its consequences.

The most susceptible to this attack, according to the same experts, is the northern hemisphere, whose climate is predisposed to cold temperatures and dampness.

The impact of cosmic dust on cloud formation and climate change is not well understood. New research in this area gives rise to more and more questions, the answers to which have not yet been received.

Influence of dust from space on the transformation of oceanic silt

Irradiation of cosmic dust by the solar wind leads to the fact that these particles fall to the Earth. Statistics show that the lightest of the three isotopes of helium in large quantities falls through dust particles from space into oceanic silt.

The absorption of elements from space by minerals of ferromanganese origin served as the basis for the formation of unique ore formations on the ocean floor.

At the moment, the amount of manganese in areas that are close to the Arctic Circle is limited. All this is due to the fact that cosmic dust does not enter the World Ocean in those areas due to ice sheets.

Influence of cosmic dust on the composition of the ocean water

If we consider the glaciers of Antarctica, they amaze with the number of meteorite remains found in them and the presence of cosmic dust, which is a hundred times higher than the usual background.

An excessively high concentration of the same helium-3, valuable metals in the form of cobalt, platinum and nickel, makes it possible to assert with certainty the fact of the intervention of cosmic dust in the composition of the ice sheet. At the same time, the substance of extraterrestrial origin remains in its original form and not diluted by the waters of the ocean, which in itself is a unique phenomenon.

According to some scientists, the amount of cosmic dust in such peculiar ice sheets over the past million years is on the order of several hundred trillion formations of meteorite origin. During the period of warming, these covers melt and carry elements of cosmic dust into the World Ocean.

Watch a video about space dust:

This cosmic neoplasm and its influence on some factors of the vital activity of our planet have not yet been studied enough. It is important to remember that the substance can affect climate change, the structure of the ocean floor and the concentration of certain substances in the waters of the oceans. Photographs of cosmic dust testify to how many more mysteries these microparticles are fraught with. All this makes the study of this interesting and relevant!

Scientists at the University of Hawaii made a sensational discovery - cosmic dust contains organic matter, including water, which confirms the possibility of transferring various life forms from one galaxy to another. Comets and asteroids plying in space regularly bring masses of stardust into the atmosphere of planets. Thus, interstellar dust acts as a kind of "transport" that can deliver water with organic matter to the Earth and to other planets of the solar system. Perhaps, once, the flow of cosmic dust led to the emergence of life on Earth. It is possible that life on Mars, the existence of which causes much controversy in scientific circles, could have arisen in the same way.

The mechanism of water formation in the structure of cosmic dust

In the process of moving through space, the surface of interstellar dust particles is irradiated, which leads to the formation of water compounds. This mechanism can be described in more detail as follows: hydrogen ions present in solar vortex flows bombard the shell of cosmic dust particles, knocking out individual atoms from the crystal structure of a silicate mineral, the main building material of intergalactic objects. As a result of this process, oxygen is released, which reacts with hydrogen. Thus, water molecules containing inclusions of organic substances are formed.

Colliding with the surface of the planet, asteroids, meteorites and comets bring a mixture of water and organic matter to its surface.

What cosmic dust- a companion of asteroids, meteorites and comets, carries molecules of organic carbon compounds, it was known before. But the fact that stardust also transports water has not been proven. Only now American scientists have discovered for the first time that organic matter carried by interstellar dust particles together with water molecules.

How did water get to the moon?

The discovery of scientists from the US may help lift the veil of mystery over the mechanism of formation of strange ice formations. Despite the fact that the surface of the Moon is completely dehydrated, an OH compound was found on its shadow side using sounding. This find testifies in favor of the possible presence of water in the bowels of the Moon.

The other side of the Moon is completely covered with ice. Perhaps it was with cosmic dust that water molecules hit its surface many billions of years ago.

Since the era of the Apollo lunar rovers in the exploration of the moon, when samples of lunar soil were delivered to Earth, scientists have come to the conclusion that sunny wind causes changes in the chemical composition of stellar dust that covers the surfaces of planets. The possibility of the formation of water molecules in the thickness of cosmic dust on the Moon was still debated then, but the analytical research methods available at that time were not able to either prove or disprove this hypothesis.

Space dust - the carrier of life forms

Due to the fact that water is formed in a very small volume and is localized in a thin shell on the surface space dust, only now it has become possible to see it with a high-resolution electron microscope. Scientists believe that a similar mechanism for the movement of water with molecules of organic compounds is possible in other galaxies, where it revolves around the "parent" star. In their further studies, scientists intend to identify in more detail which inorganic and organic matter based on carbon are present in the structure of star dust.

Interesting to know! An exoplanet is a planet that is outside the solar system and revolves around a star. At the moment, about 1000 exoplanets have been visually detected in our galaxy, forming about 800 planetary systems. However, indirect detection methods indicate the existence of 100 billion exoplanets, of which 5-10 billion have parameters similar to the Earth, that is, they are. A significant contribution to the mission of searching for planetary groups similar to the solar system was made by the astronomical satellite-telescope Kepler, launched into space in 2009, together with the Planet Hunters program.

How could life originate on Earth?

It is very likely that comets traveling through space at high speed are capable of creating enough energy when colliding with the planet to begin the synthesis of more complex organic compounds, including amino acid molecules, from the components of ice. A similar effect occurs when a meteorite collides with the icy surface of the planet. The shock wave creates heat, which triggers the formation of amino acids from individual space dust molecules processed by the solar wind.

Interesting to know! Comets are made up of large blocks of ice formed by the condensation of water vapor during the early creation of the solar system, about 4.5 billion years ago. Comets contain carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, and methanol in their structure. These substances during the collision of comets with the Earth, at an early stage of its development, could produce enough energy to produce amino acids - the building proteins necessary for the development of life.

Computer simulations have shown that icy comets that crashed on the Earth's surface billions of years ago may have contained prebiotic mixtures and simple amino acids like glycine, from which life on Earth subsequently originated.

The amount of energy released during the collision of a celestial body and a planet is enough to start the process of formation of amino acids

Scientists have found that icy bodies with identical organic compounds found in comets can be found inside the solar system. For example, Enceladus, one of the satellites of Saturn, or Europa, a satellite of Jupiter, contain in their shell organic matter mixed with ice. Hypothetically, any bombardment of satellites by meteorites, asteroids or comets can lead to the emergence of life on these planets.

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