Etude de cas Cosmic dust

Listening: Cosmic Dust

1. What is the object of the research carried out by NASA scientists?

NASA scientists want to recreate artificial cosmic dust.

2. What is the name of the research facility and where is it located?

AME research center Moffet field, located in California

3. Where can interstellar dust be found in space?

 Outer layer of Dying stars

4. Give two examples of gas-phased environments.

Planetary atmospheres and interstellar clouds and stellar envelopes.

5. How is the temperature of the molecules in the Cosmic Simulation Chamber lowered?

Cold jet spray made of Argon gas with Hydrocarbons

6. What can scientists study using the Simulation Chamber?

They can study the structure, the formation and distribution of stardust.

 7. What purposes will this discovery serve?

The results will allow scientists to understand the formation and the evolution of planets.

To interpret astronomical data.

Exercise: Put the right comparative or superlative forms of the following adjectives: helpful/expensive/small/hard/light/short/low

 In our survey the Sharp PC6340 came third. It was the most expensive of the three, but price alone was not a significant factor. The machine scored well in terms of size as it was substantially smaller than the Apple. In addition, weighing only 2 kg, it was the lightest of the three machines. However, we felt that these advantages were outweighed by the machine’s disadvantages. One of the main problems was the battery, which had a much shorter life than the other two models’. It was the harder machine to use; the other machines’ user’s guides were smaller than Sharp’s one. Overall, it was given lower rating in terms of its value for money.

...