The team published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters the progress of their research: the study of presolar grains provides insight into the environment from which the Sun was born and they can be tracked using isotopes, slightly different versions of the same element.
“This gives us a more complete picture of the formation processes of our solar system that can inform models and future experiments on the Hayabusa2 samples, as well as other meteorites.“
Jens Barosch of the Carnegie’s Institution for Science concludes in a press release : “Different types of presolar grains come from different types of stars and stellar processes, which we can identify from their isotopic signatures. The ability to identify and study these grains in the laboratory can help us understand the astrophysical phenomena that have shaped our solar system, as well as other cosmic objects.“
The study of this dust is just beginning and scientists still have a lot of work ahead of them before taking us with them in their next discoveries.
