Comets Spurt Out Chemicals In Specific Ways

A recent study has revealed the similarities and relationships between certain types of chemicals found in 30 different comets. Getting a detailed study about the composition of comets has allowed the researchers to understand the composition of the solar system. Yet, there are a lot of things to understand about the enthralling objects that exist in the universe.

According to IFL Science, a team of researchers has studied about 30 comets for 16 years and have discovered that though they are comprised of different substances, certain chemicals in comets only appear together with certain other chemicals and not others. The research is a part of an ongoing investigation into these ancient bodies.

The team studied the coma and tail of the short-term comets, those who orbit the Sun in less than 200 years ago and the long-term comets that come from the very periphery of the solar system. The research was published in Icarus and it focuses on how the molecules such as ammonia and formaldehyde appear to be strongly related to each other. They also studied about the emission of water, methane, ethane, carbon monoxide, methanol, and hydrogen cyanide. The research states that these molecules are released directly from the nucleus as the comet approaches the Sun.

As per a report published in Space Answers, Neil Dello Russo, lead author of the research and a space scientist at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory says, "This relates to how the chemicals are stored together or sequestered in the nucleus or body of the comet." He also added that the team wants to study about the profusion of these chemicals because comets are a window to distant past and they can make us aware of the chemical properties and conditions of the early solar system.

Though every comet has a unique chemical property, the researchers tried to find out the common properties that existed between different comets. With the help of a specific algorithm, the team was able to divide the sample objects into four groups and 11 subgroups. Russo stated further that comets are very assorted and in future when NASA sends a mission to any of the comet, we can learn a lot about that specific comet.