[mtngrl@vrwc]

Astronomy Fun Fact:

Micrometeorites are microscopic metal meteors. Tons of these fall on Earth each day.

To collect micrometeorites you need to find a place where they can become concentrated. The drains of a house or building work well since rainwater can wash particles off of an entire roof and collect them at the drain spout. Tile roofs are best since they drain very well and do not produce many other sorts of particles or debris.

But dust, plants, pieces of window screens and all other sorts of airborne material also collect there. To find the metallic micrometeorites, collect and dry some of the material from a deep bowl at the base of the drain spout. After removing leaves and other debris, place the remaining material on a piece of paper and place a magnet under the paper. Tilt and tap the paper so that all of the non-metallic particles fall off. Many of the remaining metallic particles are pieces of space dust! To examine them, place the paper under a microscope. High power will be required to see them clearly. Most of the particles are not from space, but the micrometeorites will show signs of their fiery trip through the atmosphere. They will be rounded and may have small pits on their surfaces.

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[mtngrl@vrwc]

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[RightWhale]

A not inconsiderable amount of micrometeorite material falls to earth every day. Over 10 million years, it would be a foot deep all over the planet. Or something of that order. The metallic pieces are easier to find with that technique, but the majority of the material will be stony. Easy to spot with a microscope. A sheet of poly painting cloth will also work. Make an inverted tent so the particles fall toward the center and collect through a hole into a can. No rain required.

[BradyLS]

Cool! How did they figure the process out? It makes perfect sense, though. For that matter, I did they know that the metoerite particles with the speculated fossilzed microbe forms come from Mars?

[MozartLover]

Beautiful!

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[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks for the ping ! Here comes........

[Sock]

Wow!

Do you know of anyone trying this and actually finding micrometeorites?

[inquest]

If I had only looked at the picture without reading the explanation, I would have most certainly concluded that the thing was a galaxy unto itself. It looks like one of them barred-spirals. Does anyone know if there really is a spiral structure to the thing, or is that just a two-dimensional illusion?