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Livermore scientists observe anomalies in makeup of interplanetary dust particle

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have seen anomalies on a particle of interplanetary dust that they say may provide a fingerprint for how abiotic interstellar organic matter was incorporated into the stellar system.

Working with scientists from Washington University, Livermore astrophysicists used an ion microprobe that allows isotopic imaging at a scale of 100 nanometers. They conducted simultaneous carbon and nitrogen isotopic imaging measurements of the interplanetary dust particle, nicknamed Benavente. They noticed that the isotope carbon 13 decreased while nitrogen 15 increased in Benavente. Their work is detailed in recent paper in the journal Science.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is operated by the University of California.

To read a Livermore news release, click here.

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