Discovery of ‘alien’ dust formed during death of a star could show how life started on Earth
It turns out that we are all literally made of stars...
Scientists have discovered a tiny speck of dust on Earth that was forged during the dramatic death of a star.
The mote was discovered inside a meteor found in Antarctica and was probably ‘hurled into space by an exploding star before our own sun existed’.
This incredible find could show us how the evolution of life began on our planet.
It’s believed the building blocks of life could travel through the universe aboard asteroids, before on planets and potentially ‘seeding’ life.
‘As actual dust from stars, such presolar grains give us insight into the building blocks from which our solar system formed,’ said Pierre Haenecour, lead author of the paper detailing the discovery of the ‘alien’ dust.
‘They also provide us with a direct snapshot of the conditions in a star at the time when this grain was formed.’
Analysis of the dust grain showed it consists of graphite containing an oxygen-rich silicate inclusion.
It formed in a stellar explosion called a nova, survived the journey through interstellar space and travelled to the region that would become our solar system 4.5 billion years ago where it became embedded in a primitive meteorite.
Tom Zega, associate professor at the University of Arizona’s department of materials science and engineering, said: ‘Perhaps we owe our existence to a nearby supernova explosion, compressing clouds of gas and dust with its shockwave, igniting stars and creating stellar nurseries.’