4.6 billion year old cosmic dust covered the roof of Europe

Scientists first screened 500 cosmic dust particles derived from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago in the mud mud stuck on the roofs in France, Germany and Norway.

Cosmic dust originates from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, which has just been discovered on rooftops in three major cities in France, Germany and Norway, New Scientist reported on December 6. This is the first time they have been collected from the dust in the city.

Researchers screened 300kg of dirt and mud trapped in the trench of roofs in the cities of Paris, Berlin and Oslo. After using magnets to attract small pieces of magnetic minerals, they identified a total of 500 cosmic dust particles.

Cosmic dust is found in three major European cities.(Artwork: Charles Platiau / Reuters).

"Scientists from the 1940s have confirmed that cosmic dust continuously falls into our atmosphere. However, they argue that they cannot be distinguished from millions of dust particles on Earth, except at The environment has almost no dust in Antarctica or deep in the ocean, "said Matthew Genge, working at Imperial College London.

Cosmic dust in the city has a diameter of 0.3mm, while the particles found before are only about 0.1mm. According to Genge, this difference is due to the change in orbit of planets like Earth and Mars, causing gravity to be disturbed, thereby affecting the orbits of particles in space. This can affect the speed when they rush into the Earth's atmosphere.

Research shows that cosmic dust in the city has a speed of 12km / s into the atmosphere, the fastest among the dust particles ever found on Earth.

"This finding is very important because we need to understand how dust particles change in the constant gravity of the planets, thereby recreating the geological history of the solar system," Genge said.