Curious Fact of the Day

Interstellar grains, those sub-micron sized bits of stardust manufactured from matter exported by stellar winds and supernovae, seem to be spinning at supra-thermal velocities. That is, there is more energy in rotational than linear degrees of freedom. A few curious processes are expected to be responsible.

Physics of the Interstellar and Intergalactic Medium (Princeton Series in Astrophysics) by Bruce T. Draine (Dec 20, 2010), page 308.

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