Spitzer Catches Star Cooking Up Comet Crystals Date: May 14, 2009 Source: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Summary: Scientists have long wondered how tiny silicate crystals, which need sizzling high ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long wondered how tiny silicate crystals, which need sizzling high temperatures to form, have found their way into frozen comets, born in the deep freeze of the ...

Spitzer's infrared spectrograph spotted the silicate crystals in 21 of 77 Ulirgs studied. The 21 galaxies range from 240 million to 5.9 billion light-years away and are scattered across the sky.

Crystals are everywhere. With few exceptions, the solid inorganic substances that make up our world are crystalline. This includes rocks, minerals, ceramics and metals.

The crystal chemistry of these minerals is governed by the interplay between the tetrahedral silicate units and various titanium-based polyhedra – often octahedral – that influence the ...

Because of early Earth's spin, silicate crystals at the poles settled at the bottom of the "ocean," whereas they accumulated at mid-depth at the equator, scientists say.

May 13, 2009. Scientists have long wondered how tiny silicate crystals, which need high temperatures to form, have found their way into frozen comets, born in the deep freeze of the solar system ...

They detected the infrared signature of silicate crystals on the disk of dust and gas surrounding the star EX Lupi during one of its frequent flare-ups, or outbursts, seen by Spitzer in April 2008.