This is a scanning electron microscope image of an interplanetary dust particle that has roughly chondritic elemental composition and is highly rough (chondritic porous: “CP”). CP types are usually aggregates of large numbers of sub-micrometer grains, clustered in a random open order.
Cosmic dust particles, originally from asteroids and comets, are minute pieces of pulverized rock. They measure up to a tenth of a millimeter in size and shroud the solar system in a thin cloud. Studying them is important because their mineral content records the conditions under which asteroids and comets were formed over four and a half billion years ago and provides an insight into the earliest history of our solar system.
Ran Hwang: Dreaming of Joy
(Source: yimmyayo)



