Armed only with vacuum cleaners, scientists hope that a hunt for extraterrestrial particles will help suck up clues about the universe
On the roof of Canterbury Cathedral, in the south-east of England, two planetary scientists are searching for cosmic dust. While the red brick parapet hides the streets far below, only wispy clouds block the deep blue sky that extends into outer space.
The roaring of a vacuum cleaner breaks the silence and researcher Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz, dressed in hazmat suit with a bulky vacuum backpack, carefully traces a gutter with the tube of the suction machine.
“We’re looking for tiny microscopic spheres,” explained her colleague, Dr Matthias van Ginneken from the University of Kent, also clad in protective gear. “Right now, we
