Comets shed light on the early days of the solar system

A new picture of comet composition, with the help of 21st century technology, was present at Diamon, Britain's national Crotron light source, in Oxfordshire.

Scientists know that comets play a significant role in securing living conditions on Earth. Most of the ice-covered small pieces of a planet without becoming comets will form giant gas planets outside the solar system, but some are pushed out of the vicinity of the largest planets. Among them, a piece remaining inside the solar system carries water and biological elements to Earth . Without this transport of comets, life on Earth could never have a chance to grow.

Scientists at the Space Research Center at Leicester University have for the first time brought the comet Wild-2 to Diamond. Using Diamond spectroscopy - bright and strong X-rays with the size of 1/25 of a hair - they found that comet models like a dusty ice globe are not the complete picture.

Dr. John Bridges, of the Center for Space Research, explained the results: 'The comet's shape is much more complicated than the view of a dusty ice globe. Wild-2 contains matter, such as chromium oxide, from inside the Solar System - so how does that matter exist in comets most of the time outside Neptune? This suggests that at the earliest stage of the solar system, matter from the inner and outer parts mixes together. '

'At Diamond, we also detected X-ray signs of iron oxide. This is very important because it shows that in the center of Wild-2 there may be small streams of sedimentation of minerals. Similar particles were detected in carbon chondrite meteorites. This means that there have been a number of centralized heating events, possibly due to the effects of the Wild-2 nucleus, melting part of the ice. '

Their specimen, born in the Kuiper belt near Neptune, was brought back by the Stardust spacecraft, including a five-billion-kilometer journey lasting 7 years. They then travel by regular means (Fedex) from the United States to the Space Research Center. The Stardust has been preprogrammed so comets can be studied directly, which helps scientists' work on water and dust from the Solar System escape from planet formation. . Dr. Bridgers added: 'One thing has become clear that not all comets are the same. For example, Wild-2 has more similarities with primitive meteors than comets from the Oort cloud, extending to the outer limit of the Solar System and rarely visiting Earth. "

The science team at Leicester University plans to study more comet-related landings in Diamond in the coming months, from which they can build an accurate comparison system between meteorites and identify processes. - such as water in the nucleus and a mix of matter from within the solar system - forming comets.

Comet Wild 2. (Photo: NASA / JPL)