An overview of the different kinds of dust found in the universe, the life cycle of dust, and the way we observe dust in the universe.

1. The Dusty Universe
Anna Quider
Institute of Astronomy
University of Cambridge

4. What is dust, anyways?

5. Earth Dust

6. Earth Dust
Skin Cells Spores Ground Rock
Dust Mites Fibers

7. But what is dust from
outer space?

8. It’s tiny
Single grains are less than 0.000001 cm (or 1μm) in size.
5μm
SiO2 molecules

9. Many different components
Most common are silicone, oxygen, and carbon but
depends on the kind of dust in question.

10. Many different components

11. Dust life cycle

12. Dust life cycle

13. Dust life cycle

14. Dust life cycle

15. Dust life cycle

16. Dust life cycle

17. Dust life cycle

18. How we know about dust
Collect samples Light’s interaction with dust

19. Moon

20. Moon
Made by billions of years of collisions on lunar surface.
Shown: recent Centaur and LCROSS impacts.

21. Moon
Possibly problematic for instruments.

22. Regolith Processing on the Moon
Buried
Habitat
LUNOX / LLH Storage
Mirror
ISR
ISR (InSect Robot)
Mirror

23. Mars

24. Mars

25. Mars
Dust storms can affect our robots on Mars.

26. Mars
15 May 2005
as seen by Spirit rover

27. Comets
Messengers from edge of solar system

28. Comets

29. Comets
Stardust Mission
Ingredients from early solar system:
ice, dry ice, olivine, smectite clay, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, spinel, metallic iron, the silicate enstatite, the
carbonate dolomite, and the iron sulfide marcasite

30. Saturn
Newly discovered dust ring around Saturn
10-20 particles per cubic km of space

31. Young Stars

32. Young Stars

33. Dust and Light

34. Local galaxies

35. Sub-mm galaxies