Space dust changing weather conditions?

London, April 5 (IANS) Cosmic dust that fills space could be playing a part in climate change, scientists say. A study is now trying to ascertain how much of this dust enters the Earth's atmosphere - in a bid to find out how it might affect our climate.

Far from being empty, space is made up of tonnes of dust caused in part by collisions between asteroids. It is thought that if all the material between the Sun and Jupiter were compressed, it could form a moon stretching 25 km across, Daily Mail reported Thursday.

It is believed that an accurate estimate of dust would also help in understanding how particles are transported through different layers of the Earth's atmosphere.

An international team led by John Plane of the University of Leeds is conducting the research, the Mail said.

The main sources of dust in the solar system are collisions between asteroids and material evaporating off comets as they approach the Sun. Satellite observations suggest that 100-300 tonnes of cosmic dust enter the atmosphere each day.