{"id":1076,"date":"2015-10-21T15:04:49","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T14:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=1076"},"modified":"2015-10-21T15:04:49","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T14:04:49","slug":"rosetta-surprising-results-from-analysis-of-comet-gases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/science-mct\/science-environment\/rosetta-surprising-results-from-analysis-of-comet-gases\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosetta: Surprising results from analysis of comet gases"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Two<\/a>

Comet 67P – (c) ESA\/Rosetta\/Navcam<\/p><\/div>\n

New results from Ptolemy \u2013 the OU\u2019s instrument on the Rosetta mission<\/a>\u2019s Philae lander – show a variance in gases coming off the comet\u2019s surface at different locations. The new data helps researchers examine how comets are formed, and indicates that the comet was formed from different building blocks giving it a rich and diverse nature.<\/p>\n

Dr Andrew Morse<\/a>, lead author on the paper, said of the findings: \u201cthough it\u2019s a possibility that carbon monoxide is produced as it moves away from the comet, a more probably account of such a large change would be that the gases released from the comet\u2019s surface differ according to location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur results have surprised us as well as opening up a variety of new questions about how comets form and how they work. We\u2019re eagerly awaiting new results which should help us clarify if Comet 67P is diverse and varying in nature, or if there\u2019s another explanation. Either way, these results offer up an important piece of the complex, yet fascinating puzzle of how comets are formed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-author Geraint Morgan<\/a> added: \u201cThis shows the value of landers, even high-risk ones, in establishing a \u2018ground truth\u2019 measurement on the surface to compare with on-going data from orbiting spacecraft. Despite Philae\u2019s eventful journey, the data produced could be the key to help the Rosetta mission unlock the secrets of the Solar System.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paper \u2018Low CO\/CO2 ratios of comet 67P measured at the Abydos landing site by the Ptolemy mass spectrometer\u2019 <\/a>was published in Astronomy and Astrophysics.\u00a0 It was authored by the OU Ptolemy team of Drs Andrew Morse, Simon Sheridan, Geraint Morgan, Dan Andrews, Simeon Barber and Professor Ian Wright, and Olivier Mousis from Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille.<\/p>\n

Find out more about the Rosetta space mission and watch this series of animated videos.
\n