Comets and Asteroids Archives

Schematic diagram of the idealised planetary system considered in this work with equally spaced planets (brown circles, semi-major axis ai) scattering comets (small dark blue circles) from the snow-line. The blue region represents the volatile-rich region of the disc where comets occur, and the green region represents the habitable zone. Low velocity cometary impacts onto habitable planets will follow the lower arrows, which sketch the dynamically cold scattering between adjacent planets. The dynamically hot scattering as shown by the upper arrows, will result in high velocity impacts. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report

Can Comets Deliver Prebiotic Molecules To Rocky Exoplanets?

by Keith CowingOctober 23, 2023October 20, 2023

In this work we consider the potential of cometary impacts to deliver complex organic molecules and the prebiotic building blocks required for life to rocky exoplanets. Numerical experiments have demonstrated […]

Diagram of ε46Ti vs. ε50Ti for CB, CH and CR chondrite samples investigated in the present study. Bulk CR data for Acfer 139 (dark blue square) and NWA 801(gray square) are from this study and from Zhang et al. (2012), respectively. Literature data for different carbonaceous chondrite groups are stated as composite points averaging multiple samples within each group and are shown for comparison (white squares). The weighted ε50Ti– ε46Ti regression (solid black line) and related error envelopes were calculated using Isoplot, and include bulk meteorite data available from previous works. All reported uncertainties reflect 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Literature data were taken from the recent compilation of Burkhardt et al. (2019) and references therein. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report

Age And Genetic Relationships Among CB, CH and CR Chondrites

by Keith CowingOctober 23, 2023October 20, 2023

The carbonaceous Bencubbin-like (CB), high-metal (CH), and Renazzo-like (CR) chondrites are metal-rich chondrites that have been suggested to be genetically linked and are sometimes grouped together as the CR chondrite […]

The positions of the fragments in the (𝑎 − 𝑒) plane that collided with the Sun or one of the rocky planets for different impact velocities and angles (see Table 2). The upper panels depict simulations with 𝜃 = 30◦ while the lower panels for 𝜃 = 45◦ . The colors indicate the fragments colliding with the different celestial bodies, while the initial position of all bodies involved in the 𝑁-body simulation is indicated in grey in the background. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Evolution Of Collision Debris Near The ν6 Secular Resonance And Its Role In The Origin Of Terrestrial Water

by Keith CowingOctober 19, 2023October 19, 2023

This work presents novel findings that broadens our understanding of the amount of water that can be transported to Earth. The key innovation lies in the combined usage of Smoothed […]

Simulated nicotinic acid abundances compared to measured values in carbonaceous chondrites and asteroid (162173) Ryugu. A rock density of 3 g cm−3 , a porosity of 0.2, [56–58] and an ice density of 0.917 g cm−3 completely filling the pores (after all radionuclides have decayed and aqueous activity has ceased) were assumed as the properties of the planetesimal/carbonaceous chondrite hosting the chemical synthesis. The simulations were run at a pressure of 100 bar. From left to right, the plotted bars show the simulated molecular abundance of nicotinic acid (solid black line on the very left) for the whole temperature range of liquid water, as well as the abundances measured in samples of Cb asteroid (162173) Ryugu collected during the Hayabusa2 spacecraft mission, [14] in the CI chondrite Orgeil, [14] several Antarctic CM2 chondrites, [12] the CM2 chondrites Murchison and Murray, and the ungrouped C2 chondrite Tagish Lake [13] as lines and shaded ranges described in the legend. Each time, the measured nicotinic acid abundance and the sum of all isomers (nicotinic acid, isonicotinic acid, picolinic acid) are given, since thermochemical equilibrium simulations cannot distinguish between isomers. The type of extraction method used (hot water, cold water ultrasonication, HCl-hydrolyzed, formic acid) is denoted next to each panel. A tabulated version of the data presented here is available in the Supporting Information in Table S1. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Prebiotic Vitamin B3 Synthesis In Carbonaceous Planetesimals

by Keith CowingOctober 19, 2023October 19, 2023

Aqueous chemistry within carbonaceous planetesimals is promising for synthesizing prebiotic organic matter essential to all life.

‘Oumuamua -- Illustration by Samuel Cabot

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics

X-rays May Tell Us More About The Origins Of Visiting Space Rocks

by Keith CowingOctober 14, 2023October 14, 2023

A research team led by a Yale astronomer has some advice for our next close encounter with a wandering, interstellar object. Check its X-rays on the way out. Since 2017, […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

The OSIRIS-REx Bennu Asteroid Sample Contains Carbon And Water

by Keith CowingOctober 11, 2023October 11, 2023

Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample collected in space and brought to Earth by NASA show evidence of water and high-carbon content, which together could indicate the building […]

TPD measurement of H2O, CO2, CO, and O2 in the ratio 60:20:10:10, respectively, with a heating rate of 0.5 K min−1 (Gudipati et al. 2023). For CO also the residual signal has been derived, i.e., after subtraction of the contribution by fragmentation of CO2. The experiment also tracked the chamber background species N, a fragment of N2. The two vertical lines separate the three temperature regimes introduced in Table 1. The portions released in the three temperature ranges are listed in Table 3. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Volatiles In The H2O and CO2 Ices Of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

by Keith CowingOctober 9, 2023October 9, 2023

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) was the first mission that accompanied a comet over a substantial fraction of its orbit.

IFU images from one of the two PRISM grating observations of Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar, collapsed along the entire wavelength axis. For Sedna and Gonggong, the 7x7 pixel yellow box 6 denotes the spectral extraction region, while the 21x21 pixel red box marks the inner boundary of the background region. Quaoar lies in a dense field of background stars, and all pixels outside of the 5x5 pixel yellow extraction box were masked, except for the two designated background regions, marked in red, which are free from visible astronomical sources. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

A Tale Of 3 Dwarf Planets: Ices And Organics On Sedna, Gonggong, And Quaoar From JWST Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingOctober 1, 2023October 1, 2023

We observed Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar with the NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). All three bodies were observed in the low-resolution prism mode at wavelengths spanning […]

Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialists Levi Hanish and Michael Kaye remove the lid of the sample return cannister. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowiz

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release

The OSIRIS-REx Sample Canister Lid is Removed

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2023September 27, 2023

NASA scientists found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister when the initial lid was removed today. The canister from the OSIRIS-REx sample return […]

A shipping container with the canister of asteroid Bennu sample is strapped down onboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The sample canister, along with disassembled capsule components and environmental samples from Utah, was transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Sept. 25, 2023 – one day after landing in the Utah desert. Credit: NASA/ Molly Wasser.

Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return

OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Arrives At Johnson Space Center

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2023April 22, 2024

The first U.S. asteroid sample, delivered by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to Earth on Sept. 24, has arrived at its permanent home at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it […]