The roof of one of Kent’s cathedrals has been vacuumed for space dust.

Two scientists from the University of Kent have been spotted on the roof of Rochester Cathedral as they attempt to hunt down micrometeorites which could hold the secrets of the solar system.

The cosmic dust, which falls from space, apparently holds the secrets to the origins of the solar system and how material makes it to Earth from space.

The team is touring ancient buildings across the country to find these space nuggets, with the first stops being England’s oldest cathedrals – Canterbury and Rochester.

They have just completed their work in Canterbury and have this week been spotted in Rochester.

The recent visits are part of an ongoing project to search for urban micrometeorites.

Dr Penny Wozniakiewicz and Dr Matthias van Ginneken from the University of Kent hope to continue their search on the roofs of other cathedrals as well as analysing the samples already collected.

They will be sharing their findings, and what these mean for our understanding of the solar system, in the coming months.

This includes the creation of scaled up 3D printings of the micrometeorites they find, thanks to funding from a Royal Astronomical Society grant.