Cosmic dust

An artist's impression of a neutron star, obscured by a dust cloud

Space

Missing neutron star found 30 years after supernova explosion

On February 23, 1987, a supernova lit up the night sky, visible to the naked eye for the first time in almost 400 years. Now, more than 30 years on astronomers say they’ve finally found the neutron star that was produced in the explosion.

This photo from the Curiosity rover shows the kind of place that could be teeming with life, if a new study is to be believed

Space

Martian microbes may be snacking on space dust

Modern Mars is a desolate husk of a planet, as far as life is concerned. But it’s not completely uninhabitable, since microbes could be hiding in the cracks of rocks and dirt. And now a new study has found a possible food source for these organisms – space dust.

Astronomers have discovered a dusty ring near Mercury, and hypothesized that there's an undetected population of asteroids in Venus' orbit

Space

Astronomers make unexpected dusty discoveries in Mercury's and Venus' orbits

Saturn may sport the most famous rings in the solar system, but it’s far from the only thing with some bling. Now, two new studies have found evidence of new rings in the inner solar system – a dusty one in the orbit of Mercury and a new set of asteroids following Venus’ path around the Sun.

An artist's rendition of the dusty pseudo-moon spotted in orbit around Earth

Space

Dusty pseudo-satellites spotted orbiting Earth

Hungarian astronomers have spotted two new pseudo-satellites – in the form of clouds of dust – caught in the gravitational tug-of-war between the Earth and the Moon.

It seems that cosmic dust can be found close to home, such as in the rooftop gutters of Paris

Space

There's cosmic dust in them thar gutters

Scientists have studied sediment taken from rooftop gutters across Europe and discovered cosmic dust hidden within, marking the first time these extraterrestrial sprinkles have turned up in urban environments.