Cometdust: water droplets or bits of rock?

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alexz
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:43 pm

Cometdust: water droplets or bits of rock?

Post by alexz »

So, are these particles we find solids or liquids?
icebike

Re: Cometdust: water droplets or bits of rock?

Post by icebike »

alexz wrote:So, are these particles we find solids or liquids?
Solids. Its a tad cold out there!

Of course if they were ice, its long gone now.
ZackG
Stardust@home Team
Stardust@home Team
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:25 pm

Ice particles

Post by ZackG »

One thing to keep in mind is the possibility that some of the incident particles will be ices. In this case, they may very well vaporize on impact but still leave some sign of their having existed. Since we don't know exactly what type of particles comprise the interstellar stream, we can't rule that out. Also, since we aren't able to simulate microscopic ice particles hitting the aerogel, we haven't the slightest clue what such impacts would look like...
Zack Gainsforth
Space Sciences Laboratory
UC Berkeley
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