The composition of comets in the solar system come in multiple groups thought to encode information about their formation in different regions o fthe outer protosolar disk. The recent discovery […]
Comets and Asteroids
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Detection Of CN Gas In Interstellar Object 2I/Borisov
The detection of Interstellar Objects passing through the Solar system offers the promise of constraining the physical and chemical processes involved in planetary formation in other extrasolar systems. While the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Simulations Of Ice Chemistry In Cometary Nuclei
The first computational model of solid-phase chemistry in cometary nuclear ices is presented. An astrochemical kinetics model, MAGICKAL, is adapted to trace the chemical evolution in multiple layers of cometary […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
A Family Of Comets Reopens The Debate About the Origin Of Earth's Water
Where did the Earth’s water come from? Although comets, with their icy nuclei, seem like ideal candidates, analyses have so far shown that their water differs from that in our […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures
Breakthrough Listen Releases Initial Results and Data from Observations of ‘Oumuamua
No evidence of artificial signals emanating from the object so far detected by the Green Bank Telescope, but monitoring and analysis continue. Initial data are available for public inspection in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
The Origin Of O2 And Other Volatile Species In Comets
Molecular oxygen, O2, was recently detected in comet 67P by the ROSINA instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft with a surprisingly high abundance of 4 % relative to H2O, making […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Does the Organic Material of Comets Predate our Solar System?
The Rosetta space probe discovered a large amount of organic material in the nucleus of comet “Chury.” In an article published by MNRAS on August 31, 2017, two French researchers […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Detection of Exposed H2O ice on the Nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Since the orbital insertion of the Rosetta spacecraft, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) has been mapped by OSIRIS camera and VIRTIS spectro-imager, producing a huge quantity of images and spectra of the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Ice Grain Collisions in Comparison: CO2, H2O and their Mixtures
Collisions of ice particles play an important role in the formation of planetesimals and comets. In recent work we showed, that CO2 ice behaves like silicates in collisions. The resulting […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Rosetta's Comet Contains Ingredients For The Origin of Life
Ingredients regarded as crucial for the origin of life on Earth have been discovered at the comet that ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has been probing for almost two years. They include […]