Ancient Stardust in the Laboratory

DEC 01, 1997

As it collapsed to form the Solar System, material in the solar nebula was churned up and homogenized. But not everything was lost in the mix …

DOI: 10.1063/1.882049

Thomas J. Bernatowicz

Robert M. Walker

A mazingly, individual grains of dust from stars that existed before the Sun was born have made their way to Earth in meteorites. When subjected to a battery of cutting‐edge laboratory techniques, these tiny grains provide thrilling new insights into such topics as the dynamics of supernova explosions, the age and chemical evolution of the Galaxy, fundamental nuclear physics and processes in the outer envelopes of stars. The path from dust grain to astrophysical insight is the subject of this article.

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More about the authors

Thomas J. Bernatowicz, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

Robert M. Walker, Washington University.