Cosmic cleaners: the scientists scouring English cathedral roofs for space dust

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/17/cosmic-cathedrals-dust-rooftops-planetary-secrets-asteroids-comets

by anfractuosity • 2 years ago

41 6 2 years ago

theguardian.com

quercusa• 2 years ago

There's a very cool book of photos of micrometeorites:

In Search of Stardust: Amazing Micrometeorites and Their Terrestrial Imposters

By Jon Larsen, ISBN: 9780760352649

bryan0• 2 years ago

I recommend the Werner Herzog’s documentary “Fireball” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireball:_Visitors_from_Dark... ) which has a segment with Jon Larsen and his process for capturing images of micro meteorites

verisimi• 2 years ago

The roaring of a vacuum cleaner breaks the silence and researcher Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz, dressed in hazmat suit with a bulky vacuum backpack, carefully traces a gutter with the tube of the suction machine.

I reckon every week my house gets a load of meteorites on it. Please email to make a weekly arrangement for cleaning the, er, meteorites up. My rates are very reasonable!

OJFord2• 2 years ago

Why the hazmat suit? It's not like they're going to contaminate the samples with space dust accidentally brought from home (or rather if they did they wouldn't care anyway - they want those particles not specifically what's on the cathedral roof)?

anfractuosity• 2 years ago

It mentions "they are protecting themselves from bird flu, possibly contained in the droppings and bird bones we see on the roof"

OJFord2• 2 years ago

Ah, thanks

Cosmic cleaners: the scientists scouring English cathedral roofs for space dust

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