Comet Findings Raise Fiery Mystery

Comets are called "glittering tourists of the solar system. " But are these "snowballs of ice and gravel "only that or is there more to these mysterious objects? New finds raise some interesting ideas .

Comet Findings Raise Fiery Mystery

by Howard Berkes
"But scientists studying comet dust from the Stardust probe found minerals formed by intense heat, suggesting the minerals came from the neighborhood of the sun itself. That's the earliest discovery in what's expected to be decades of study."
and
"How did hot minerals from the blistering core get to the frigid outer reaches? Or did the minerals come from other stars? And maybe comets aren't quite what we thought, if those icy bodies contain minerals forged by fire."
more at the following website including a picture of the Wild 2 comet in space (very cool)
Wild 2, Portrait of a Comet by Meagan White (on the same website)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5260829

more at Stardust mission Home webpage

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/main/index.html

Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS(dreric1kansas@aol.com)