Star Cooking Up Comet Crystals

Scientists have long wondered how tiny silicate crystals, which need sizzling high temperatures to form, have found their way into frozen comets, born in the deep freeze of the solar system's outer edges. The crystals would have begun as non-crystallized silicate particles, part of the mix of gas and dust from which the solar system developed. A team of astronomers believes they have found a new explanation for both where and how these crystals may have been created, by using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to observe the growing pains of a young, sun-like star. Their study results, which appear in the May issue of Nature, provide new insight into the formation of planets and comets.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• galaxy
• comets
• infrared
• spitzer
• telescope