Real "stardust" found on Earth

Japanese scientists discovered particles of stardust right here on earth. Apparently, they have been formed long before the actual formation of the Solar system. It is contained in two relatively small meteorites, found in the deserts of Morocco and Algeria.

Results of experiments have already been published in Tokyo. The tests were conducted by means of the latest high-tech microscope by a team of researchers from the capital’s Industrial University and several other institutes.

Stardust represents mineral particles scattered in space, formed primarily from atoms of dying stars. Such cosmic grains served as the main “raw material” in the formation of the planet earth as well as other planets. While conducting various experiments, scientists also plan to shed the light on the origin of the Solar system and other galaxies.

What Japanese scientists discovered in the African meteorites were 7 grains (ranging from 0,1 to 1 micrometer in size) which, supposedly, had separated from two different stars before the formation of the Solar system. They estimated to be 4,6 billion years old. Judging by the chemical makeup of the particles, they belong to silicates—main counterparts of 80% of minerals on the planet.