Interstellar dust, meteorites, interplanetary dust particles (IDP's), the zodiacal light, comets, comet dust. Where do they come from, what are they made of, how do they evolve, and finally, are there connections between them? These are the questions discussed in this volume by some of the world's outstanding experts in their respective fields. The techniques used for studying the `small' solid objects of space are thoroughly discussed. Some of the methods involve a synthetic approach using the laboratory to create analog environments and materials which are believed to resemble those in space. Others use direct laboratory methods with state-of-the-art analytical tools to study the material of the objects themselves - meteorites, IDP'S. And others apply the latest in astronomical facilities to provide quantitative data on the material properties of the solids which can only be deduced from remote observations, These are compared with the laboratory results. In one instance there was a possibility to study a solar system body in situ and that was the case of comet Halley and some of the results of these studies obtained from space `laboratories' launched to meet it are discussed here. Finally, there are theoretical papers which are aimed at bridging the results of observational and laboratory methods. This book is recommended to senior scientists as well as graduate students who wish to pursue research in interstellar and solar system astronomy and their connections.

Interstellar and solar system solids are different stages of the same materials. In this book, the sources and evolution of circumstellar dust, interstellar dust, comets, meteorites and interplanetary dust are carefully discussed in the context of their interrelations. One of the major questions raised is: how do characteristically 1/10 micron interstellar dust particles evolve to rocky materials 1000 times larger or more? The closest we appear to be getting in relating interstellar dust to particles in the solar system is the evidence for submicron organic coated particles in interplanetary dust particles collected in the upper atmosphere, which allow direct laboratory investigation on Earth. What we know about comets, however, either results from remote observation or space measurements in situ. Comet volatiles compare very well with interstellar ices. These astrophysical problems bring to bear a very wide range of theoretical, observational and laboratory expertise in such fields as astronomy, physics and chemistry and, with the evidence of complex prebiotic organics in meteorites.