French scientists have determined more that 5,000 tons of extraterrestrial dust particles reach earth every year. It comes from asteroids or comets. This is the main source of extraterrestrial matter on our planet, far ahead of larger objects such as meteorites, for which the flux is less than ten tons per year.
Every year, our planet encounters dust from comets and asteroid. These interplanetary dust particles pass through our atmosphere and give rise to shooting stars. Some of them reach the ground in the form of micrometeorites.
An international program conducted for nearly 20 years by scientists from the CNRS, the Université Paris-Saclay and the National museum of natural history with the support of the French polar institute, has determined that 5,200 tons per year of these micrometeorites reach the ground.
The study will be available in the journal Earth & Planetary Science Letters from April 15.
Micrometeorites have always fallen on our planet. These interpl...
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