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A
TRIP THROUGH TIME ON DUSTY COMETS
If
you've seen one comet, you've seen them all, right?
Wrong
- according to recent laboratory research and historical observations,
comets could have formed at different times during the evolution
of the solar nebula, and may reveal their age by the structure
of their dust grains. If this idea holds, NASA may one day
be able to "time travel" through different epochs of the solar
system's formation merely by visiting comets that formed during
different periods. The research also indicates that theories
of comet formation and the dynamics of a protostellar nebula
may need to be revised.
PRESS
RELEASE (abridged)
PRESS
RELEASE (full text, with additional detail in the last three
paragraphs)
For
images of comets, refer to:
Comet
image archives at the National Space Science Data Center
For
more information about comets, refer to:
Stardust
mission page
For
basic information about the Oort cloud, refer to:
The
Oort cloud page in the University of Arizona Nine Planets
Tour
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