A groundbreaking study conducted by a team of international scientists has unveiled unprecedented insights into the nature of the asteroid Ryugu and shed light on the composition of water- and […]
Comets and Asteroids
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Experimental Study Of The Binding Energy Of NH3 On Different Types Of Ice And Its Impact On The Snow Line Of NH3 And H2O
N-bearing molecules (like N2H+ or NH3) are excellent tracers of high-density, low-temperature regions like dense cloud cores and could shed light into snowlines in protoplanetary disks and the chemical evolution […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Comet 81P/Wild 2: A Record of the Solar System’s Wild Youth
NASA’s Stardust mission returned rocky material from the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2 (pronounced “Vilt 2”) to Earth for laboratory study on January 15, 2006. Comet Wild 2 contains volatile […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Meteorites Were A Likely Source Of Nitrogen For Early Earth
Micrometeorites originating from icy celestial bodies in the outer Solar System may be responsible for transporting nitrogen to the near-Earth region in the early days of our solar system. That […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Cliff Collapse On Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – I. Aswan
The Aswan cliff on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko collapsed on 2015 July 10. Thereby, relatively pristine comet material from a depth of ~12 m was exposed at the surface. Observations of the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
JWST Near-infrared Spectroscopy Of The Lucy Jupiter Trojan Flyby Targets: Evidence For OH Absorption, Aliphatic Organics, And CO2
We present JWST/NIRSpec observations of the five Jupiter Trojans that will be visited by the Lucy spacecraft — the Patroclus–Menoetius binary, Eurybates, Orus, Leucus, and Polymele.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Optical Spectroscopy Of Comets
Comets are pristine remnants of the Solar system, composed of dust and ice. They remain inactive and undetectable for most of their orbit due to low temperatures. However, as they […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Panspermia, Press Release
Bouncing Comets Could Deliver Building Blocks For Life To Exoplanets
How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers from the University of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Comets 12CO+ and 13CO+ Fluorescence Models For Measuring The 12C/13C Isotopic Ratio In CO+
Context: CO is an abundant species in comets, creating CO+ ion with emission lines that can be observed in the optical spectral range. A good modeling of its fluorescence spectrum […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Exploring The Origin Of Nucleosynthetic Isotope Variations In Ryugu Samples
The Hayabusa2 space mission by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) returned home with samples of the asteroid Ryugu that orbits the Sun between Earth and Mars.