Molecular Oxygen:Stunning Find!

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by paddoboy, Oct 28, 2015.

  1. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    Rosetta finds molecular oxygen on comet 67P
    October 28, 2015

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    This single frame Rosetta navigation camera image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken on 7 July 2015 from a distance of 154 km from the comet centre. The image has a resolution of 13.1 m/pixel and measures 13.4 km across. Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM
    Stunned scientists announced Wednesday the unexpected discovery of large quantities of oxygen on a comet which streaked past the Sun in August with a European spacecraft in tow.

    The find came as a "big surprise", and challenges mainstream theories on the formation of our Solar System, said scientist Andre Bieler of the University of Michigan.

    Measurements suggested that oxygen molecules in the comet's gassy halo must have existed "before or at" its formation, he told journalists.

    This may have implications for mankind's understanding of the chemistry involved in the formation of the Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago.






    Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-10-rosetta-molecular-oxygen-comet-67p.html#jCp
     
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  3. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7575/full/nature15707.html
    The composition of the neutral gas comas of most comets is dominated by H2O, CO and CO2, typically comprising as much as 95 per cent of the total gas density1. In addition, cometary comas have been found to contain a rich array of other molecules, including sulfuric compounds and complex hydrocarbons. Molecular oxygen (O2), however, despite its detection on other icy bodies such as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn2, 3, has remained undetected in cometary comas. Here we report in situ measurement of O2 in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with local abundances ranging from one per cent to ten per cent relative to H2O and with a mean value of 3.80 ± 0.85 per cent. Our observations indicate that the O2/H2O ratio is isotropic in the coma and does not change systematically with heliocentric distance. This suggests that primordial O2 was incorporated into the nucleus during the comet’s formation, which is unexpected given the low upper limits from remote sensing observations4. Current Solar System formation models do not predict conditions that would allow this to occur.
     
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  5. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    Forget the Mars program, let's all go live on this comet! At least we can breath

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