Astronomy
The Role of Cosmic Dust in Planetary System Formation
Quick fact
Cosmic dust grains are typically just a fraction of a micrometer to a few micrometers in size, but they are so abundant in a young star's disk that they provide enough material to build thousands of rocky planets like Earth.
Why this is interesting
Every planet you've ever heard of—from scorching hot Jupiters to our own rocky Earth—began as a patch of microscopic dust floating in space. How can something so small build entire worlds?