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Abundant molecular oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
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Abundant molecular oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
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Abundant molecular oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
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Journal Article
Abundant molecular oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
2015
Overview
In situ
measurement of O
2
in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko shows local abundances ranging from one per cent to ten per cent relative to H
2
O; the spatial and temporal uniformity of the O
2
/H
2
O ratio suggests that primordial O
2
was incorporated into the nucleus during the comet’s formation.
Molecular oxygen on comet 67P
Molecular oxygen (O
2
) has been detected on icy bodies in the Solar System, including the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, but until now it has not been detected in a comet. Andre Bieler
et al
. report the detection and
in situ
measurement of O
2
in the coma of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, made by the Rosetta spacecraft's ROSINA instrument between September 2014 and March 2015. The data reveal local abundances of O
2
between 1% to 10% relative to H
2
O. The O
2
/H
2
O ratio is consistent throughout the coma and does not change systematically with distance from the Sun, suggesting that primordial O
2
was incorporated into the nucleus during the comet's formation. Current Solar System formation models do not predict conditions that would allow this to occur.
The composition of the neutral gas comas of most comets is dominated by H
2
O, CO and CO
2
, typically comprising as much as 95 per cent of the total gas density
1
. In addition, cometary comas have been found to contain a rich array of other molecules, including sulfuric compounds and complex hydrocarbons. Molecular oxygen (O
2
), however, despite its detection on other icy bodies such as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn
2
,
3
, has remained undetected in cometary comas. Here we report
in situ
measurement of O
2
in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, with local abundances ranging from one per cent to ten per cent relative to H
2
O and with a mean value of 3.80 ± 0.85 per cent. Our observations indicate that the O
2
/H
2
O ratio is isotropic in the coma and does not change systematically with heliocentric distance. This suggests that primordial O
2
was incorporated into the nucleus during the comet’s formation, which is unexpected given the low upper limits from remote sensing observations
4
. Current Solar System formation models do not predict conditions that would allow this to occur.
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
