Ask the Weather Guys: Can space dust affect our atmosphere?

Ask the Weather Guys: Can space dust affect our atmosphere?

Madison.com·2021-05-04 06:00

Q: Can space dust affect our atmosphere?A: Space contains tons of dust. When dust particles approach Earth, they can be captured by gravity and enter the atmosphere at very high speeds.Particles with diameters larger than about 2 millimeters undergo very rapid heating through collisions in our atmosphere. As they heat up, they can produce a short-lived trail of light known as shooting star. Most dust particles entering the atmosphere are estimated to be much smaller than this and dont provide a visible trail.The dust aids with the formation of noctilucent clouds the highest clouds in the Earths atmosphere by providing a surface on which ice crystals can form. Noctilucent clouds develop during summer in the polar regions.A micrometeorite is a small dust particle that reaches the Earths surface. They are a few tenths to hundredths of a millimeter in size. Antarctica is a good place to look for micrometeorites because of the low accumulation of snow and the virtual absence of ground dust. After a 20-year collection of extraterrestrial particles in Antarctica, a peer-reviewed publication estimates that every year over 5,000 tons of space dust fall on Earth. For reference, the average U.S. car weighs about 2 tons.While small in size, over time space dust can add up. On geologic time scales, the dust fall could have delivered significant amounts of water to our atmosphere. They also can fall in the ocean, fertilizing marine phytoplankton with iron.

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