After traveling through the solar system for 10 year , ESA’sRosetta finally made its rendezvouswith the comet 67P / Churyumov - Gerasimenko on August 6 . Less than a calendar month later , NASA ’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph has recall with the first skill results of such an up - close foreign mission to a comet . The instrument , named Alice , uncover entropy about the comet ’s color , surface chicken feed capacity , and preliminary datum about compounds within the comet ’s atm — technically recognize as its coma .
Alice revealed that 67P / C - G ’s coma included oxygen and atomic number 1 , which is n’t altogether scandalous as comas are broadly regard to be compose of water vapor and debris . What was surprising was that the surface of the comet ’s nucleus did not seem to have orotund amounts of ice . As comet approach the sun ’s heat energy , the ice is turn into water vapor . But 67P / C - G is still over500 million km by from the sun , which should be far enough aside for the methamphetamine to stay inviolate . This could be a clue that the comet had been in close proximity with our sunlight or a different virtuoso at some point during its story .
" We ’re a bit surprised at just how unthoughtful the comet ’s surface is and how petty grounds of exposed piddle - ice it shows , " Alice ’s principle investigator Alan Sterntold NASA . Alice ’s data also showed 67P / C - G is blacker than coal when viewed at UV wavelengths , which is described as fairly unusual .
“ As the deputation progresses , we will continue to search for surface ice spot and ultraviolet color and composition magnetic declination across the surface of the comet,”statedco - investigator Lori Feaga .
During its mission on 67P / C - G , Alice will continue to assemble data regarding the physical composition of the nucleus and coma . recession conditions required for certain elements will help astronomer pinpoint where the comet shape . For instance , neon will only be present within the cell nucleus if the comet was formed in an area that is 16 K degrees ( -257 C or -430 F).The presence or absence seizure of such factor will also give selective information about the thermic environmental conditions the comet has experienced throughout its spirit .
