By Ron Cowen
Intruder alert! Stardust is sneaking into our solar system at three times the rate that it was just 6 years ago. Moreover, the influx of dust could triple again by the end of 2010.
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DUST COLLECTOR. Artist’s view of the Ulysses spacecraft, which has flown over the sun’s poles. |
These findings are based on the latest measurements by the Ulysses spacecraft, launched in 1990 to become the first observatory to explore the sun’s poles. Before Ulysses’ tour, which takes it from Jupiter’s neighborhood to far above the solar poles, most astronomers didn’t think much dust from other stars could penetrate the solar system. Sunlight rapidly charges dust attempting to enter the solar system, and, according to conventional theory, the sun’s magnetic field then ejects the particles.