By Matt Sepic, KWMU
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwmu/local-kwmu-551785.mp3
St. Louis – Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered particles from outer space that are older than the Sun.
The researchers found the material in a sample returned by the NASA spacecraft Stardust. The probe was launched in 1999, and a capsule from it returned to Earth in January with microscopic pieces of a comet tail.
Scientists around the country immediately began studying the particles, including Washington University physicist Frank Stadermann.
He tells KWMU's Matt Sepic the material is 4.5 billion years old and was once part of an ancient star.
The research appears in the latest edition of the journal Science.