Space: It's dark, cold and, in most parts of the galaxy, probably pretty sticky.
Swirled amid the dust, soot and electromagnetic radiation that sits among the stars of the Milky Way, there is also a whole mess of toxic grease. This "space grease" — actually an oily form of hydrogen-bound carbon called aliphatic carbon — is one of several types of carbon leaked into empty space by blazing stars, and may be among the key ingredients in the formation of new stars and planets, astronomers say.
Precisely how much grease is out there lubing up the Milky Way? Scientists haven't known for sure, but a new paper published June 13 in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society proposes an answer: enough grease to really mess up the windshield on your spaceship. [Interstellar Travel: 7 Futuristic Spacecrafts to Explore the Cosmos]
No problem for us space greasers.
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