As NASA's Stardust probe parachuted toward Utah in January, scientists weren't the only ones holding their breath. Some 65,000 members of Stardust@Home were also standing by, waiting for a chance to lay eyes on interstellar particles caught by the probe on the way to comet Wild 2. Using special software, @homers will pore over magnified pieces of aerogel (the transparent silicon-based foam used to capture samples) scanning for bits of dust.
Unlike the similarly named SETI@home, which analyzes radio signals from space on PCs, the new project relies on human eyes and brains. Computers can't handle this job, says Andrew Westphal, the UC Berkeley astrophysicist who started Stardust@home. "We don't even know what a typical grain looks like." Figuring it out could make interstellar history.
- Michael Reilly
credit Christopher Snead/UC Berkeley
Dust collector: The probeés aerogel array.
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