{"id":36942,"date":"2022-10-03T10:42:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T10:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=112454"},"modified":"2022-10-03T11:13:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:13:12","slug":"japans-hayabusa2-spacecraft-discovers-dust-grains-older-than-the-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/japans-hayabusa2-spacecraft-discovers-dust-grains-older-than-the-solar-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Hayabusa2 spacecraft discovers dust grains older than the Solar System"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Ezzy Pearson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 03 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Grains of dust<\/span> from before the Solar System\u2019s creation have been found in the samples of asteroid Ryugu brought back by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s (JAXA) Hayabusa2<\/a> spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Asteroids<\/a> are the leftovers from when the planets formed 4.5 billion years ago and some still contain pre-solar grains.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The 5.4g sample captured from Ryugu by Hayabusa2 included grains that pre-date our Solar System. Credit: JAXA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

These are the unprocessed remnants of the gas and dust that went on to create our Solar System, and have been found in roughly 5% of meteorites.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though meteorites provide an easy way to collect asteroid material, they have been contaminated by their time on Earth, unlike the pristine Hayabusa2 samples that were collected directly from the asteroid in 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n