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June 7, 2021
Comet Churyumov - Gerasimenko was discovered in 1969 by Soviet astronomers Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko. It is a short-period comet with an orbital period of approximately 6.5 years. To study it, in 2004, the European Space Agency, in cooperation with NASA, launched the Rosetta automatic interplanetary station with the Philae descent vehicle on board.
On November 12, 2014, the world's first soft landing of the lander on the comet's surface was performed. Although the Philae module has been operating on the comet's surface for less than a month, the data obtained from it are of great scientific value. The comet's nucleus with dimensions of 4.1 × 3.2 × 1.3 km has an irregular shape and consists of two parts fastened together. Perhaps this is due to the merger of two different celestial bodies.
Already the first results refuted the prevailing ideas of scientists about comets. It turned out that the comet's nucleus does not consist of ice of various substances, as it was assumed earlier, but of dust particles cemented by ice with an average density of 0.47 g / cm³.
The data on the detection of water on a comet with characteristics different from those on Earth became sensational. On a comet, water contains much more deuterium than water on Earth. And this contradicts the widespread point of view that comets brought water to our planet. Glycine and other complex organic compounds were also found on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In fact, it is “equipped” with all the starting materials such as water, carbon, methane and ammonia needed to assemble more complex organic molecules. Scientists suggest that comets could have delivered them to Earth, initiating the emergence of life.
The mass spectrometer, which was installed on board the Rosetta probe, studied the composition of the comet dust ejected from its nucleus for two years. It turned out that in each dust particle with a diameter of 0.05 to 1 mm, about 50% of the mass falls on a carbonaceous substance, and the second half consists of anhydrous silicates. These data confirm the fact that comets are among the most carbon-rich small bodies in the solar system.
Further study of the composition of comets will allow us to better understand the processes of formation of objects in the solar system.
Source: Moscow Planetarium.
Related articles:
Large comets
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/large-comets.html
Main belt comets
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/03/main-belt-comets.html
Getting to know Rosetta’s comet
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2015/01/getting-to-know-rosettas-comet.html
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/31350/
Moscow Planetarium: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/moskovskiy-planetariy/
Comet: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/kometa/
Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/ESA/Moscow Planetarium/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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