Circumstellar dust
Dust around a star
- 1 min read
- 1 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Star, Extinction (astronomy) and Stellar evolution
The study of the composition of this dust is dubbed astrominerology. The circumstellar dust around aging stars has been observed to include, "almost pure crystalline Mg-rich silicates (forsterite and clinoenstatite), amorphous silicates, diopside, spinel, oxides (corundum and Fe0.9Mg0.1O), and also carbon-rich solids such as: (hydrogenated) amorphous carbons, aromatic hydrocarbons and silicon carbide."
The motion of circumstellar dust is governed by forces due to stellar gravity and radiation pressure.
Circumstellar dust in the Solar System causes the zodiacal light.