Data from comet ’Chury’, collected while the comet passed the point of its orbit closest to the Sun, show a plethora of surprising molecules sublimating from expelled dust particles. On average, this complex organic material resembles that present in meteorites and Saturn’s ring rain, indicating a shared presolar origin.
Data from comet 'Chury', collected while the comet passed the point of its orbit closest to the Sun, show a plethora of surprising molecules sublimating from expelled dust particles. On average, this complex organic material resembles that present in meteorites and Saturn's ring rain, indicating a shared presolar origin. Universtiy of Bern - A team of researchers led by the University of Bern has for the first time identified an unexpected richness of complex organic molecules at a comet. This was achieved thanks to the analysis of data collected during ESA-s Rosetta mission at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, also known as Chury. Delivered to the early Earth by impacting comets, these organics may have helped to kick-start carbon-based life as we know it. Comets are fossils from the ancient times and from the depths of our Solar System, and they are relics from the formation of the sun, planets, and moons. A team led by chemist Dr. Nora Hänni of the Physics Institute of the University of Bern, Department of Space Research and Planetary Sciences, has now succeeded for the first time in identifying a whole series of complex organic molecules at a comet as they report in a study published end of June in the prestigious journal Nature Communications .
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