Discovered Origin of Interstellar dust
Interstellar dust, which are coal-like particles that fill the space between stars is being revealed by Supernova 2010jl. New information has been published in Nature display a husk of dust assembling around the dying star within weeks of the explosion. The main dust provider in the universe are supernovas. In the constellation, Leo, which is about 160 million light-years away, is where the bizarre supernova is located. This was first seen in 2010.
Researchers used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to observe the dust form in real-time for two and a half years. Dust that dimmed different colors of light from the explosion how they track the supernova. During the wake of the supernova’s shock wave is where the dust possibly formed. it traveled at almost 126 million kilometers per hour as it tore through the dying star’s previous gas.
“The dust grains are larger than expected, some bigger than a micrometer, which should help them survive the harsh environment of interstellar space, says lead author Christa Gall, of Aarhus University in Denmark. Their hardiness helps explain how supernovas might contribute much of the dust amid galaxies”, she adds.