Interstellar Dust

Wickramasinghe worked with Fred Hoyle on the composition of dust between stars, asking how microscopic grains absorb and scatter radiation. Their models helped move discussion from simple inorganic grains toward more complex carbon-rich material.

This work connected astronomical spectra, chemistry, and the material cycle of stars and interstellar clouds. It also supplied the observational starting point from which Wickramasinghe later developed broader arguments about organic matter in space.