Abstract
Cosmic dust particles play an important role for the thermal, dynamical and chemical conditions in many astrophysical environments, especially for the star and planet formation process and the late stages of stellar evolution. Dust is formed during late stages of stellar evolution and transferred into the ISM. The particles determine the spectral appearance of proto-stars as well as of evolved stars with circumstellar envelopes, and they also dominate extinction curves of galaxies. So despite the insignificant size of dust particles it is important to understand their properties if we are to understand how they modify the physical conditions of many astronomical objects. I this talk I will describe our current understanding of how dust forms in the winds of AGB stars and in supernova remnants