Number 222 (Story #1), April 17, 1995 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein A CIRCUMSTELLAR DUST RING has been observed by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite during its survey of the sky. Computer simulations of the motion of asteroidal dust particles moving toward the sun had shown that the presence of the Earth helps to trap some of the particles in a circumsolar ring in which the Earth is embedded; the disposition of dust would be denser beyond the Earth's orbit than inside of it. Previously, the "zodiacal light" (reflected sunlight) from the dust had been seen by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), but COBE's observations are fuller and more unequivocal. (W.T. Reach et al., Nature, 6 April 1995.)