Key facts
- Category
- Cosmic dust
- Object class
- Dust aggregate
- Scale fact
- 3 µmdiameter
- Composition
- Silicate and carbon-rich dust
Dust Aggregate
3 µmdiameter
Details
A dust aggregate is a fragile porous clump assembled from many smaller grains. Gentle sticking between particles like this is one of the first steps from free-floating dust toward pebbles, planetesimals, and eventually planets.
In a young planetary disk, collisions do not always shatter dust grains. At low enough speeds, some grains stick and form airy clusters with much empty space between their components. Continued collisions may compact, fragment, or enlarge them.
Links
- Wikipedia
- Dust Aggregate on Wikipedia
Size neighbors
Objects near Dust Aggregate on the scale
On the logarithmic size axis, Dust Aggregate falls between Carbonaceous Grain and Presolar SiC Grain. The band uses nearby Cosmic dust records.
Shared physical scale
6.12µm
Sources
References for Dust Aggregate
Measurements and descriptive context are compiled by the Scale of Space team from the references below. If you find an error, please let us know.
Continue with nearby objects or open the full scale.
About
Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.
Guides explain selected parts of that range, while focused views filter the objects by subject.