"Kent Scientists Scale Cathedral Roofs in Quest for Cosmic Dust"
Scientists from the University of Kent are climbing cathedral roofs wearing vacuum cleaner backpacks to collect cosmic dust that falls to Earth from space. The researchers aim to understand how much material from space reaches Earth and becomes part of the planet or its atmosphere. Cathedral roofs are ideal for collecting cosmic dust due to their size and inaccessibility. The dust particles, which come from asteroids and comets, provide valuable insights into the number of particles arriving at the Earth's surface and their contribution to the planet. The scientists have already identified cosmic particles in the dust swept from a section of Canterbury Cathedral's roof and plan to continue their research at other cathedrals.