Advances in Dusty Plasmas 7.Dusty Plasmas in Space

Ionized gases contaminated with small particulates ranging in size from nanometers to micrometers (loosely referred to as dusty plasmas) appear in a wide variety of space environments. These include planetary and cometary magnetospheres, the heliosphere, supernova shells and a variety of interstellar regions. The interaction between the dust and the plasma leads to a variety of novel physical and dynamical processes. The systematic study of these processes, which was stimulated by the spacecraft observations of novel dust phenomena in Saturn's rings in the early eighties, is presently in an intensive phase, supported by theory, simulation, and dedicated laboratory experiments. The following is an overview of this area. While it is brief by necessity, it is hoped that it conveys to the reader both the scope and the vitality of field.