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Oumuamua, space dust, and the cohesive factor

26 March 2023
Astronomy

At https://phys.org/news/2023-03-simple-explanation-oumuamua-weird-orbit.html … a surprisingly simple explanation for Oumuamua’s weird orbit. It was accelerating away from the sun in a way that astronomers could not explain. What was the role of hydrogen?

At https://phys.org/news/2023-03-life-space.html … another way of looking at space dust – and life in space. Lots of space dust – but where does it come from. Asteroid impacts – perhaps even impacts with planets. Dust from collisions can be lifted high into the atmosphere, and some of it will escape, it is thought. Hence, a few grains of space dust, or a meteor, may contain life – from the asteroid or comet involved in the collision. Life may not exist in space, as such, but could have been injected into space.

At https://phys.org/news/2023-03-cohesive-meteorite-fragments-mobility-asteroids.html … the cohesive force of asteroid particles influences microgravity. Hundreds of kilograms of space dust and meteoric material fall into earth’s atmosphere. From there they filter downwards. Japanese researchers at Kobe University reconstructed cohesive force measurements of meteorite fragments. The cohesive force was much less than expected. Mainstream theory of planet formation relies on cohesive and adhesive forces between similar and different particle types. It is key to understanding evolutionary and eolian processes.

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