The ice on comet 67P is as old as the solar system
Ice on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is almost as old as the solar system, astronomers have said.
Research published in the Astrophysical Journalsays the ice on the comet is found in crystalline form, which indicates that it originated in the protosolar nebula. This would make it as old as the solar system, or approximately 4.6 billion-years-old.
To determine the age of the comet, the international research team, which involved Marseille Université and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), had to work out the type of ice on its surface. By analysing the chemicals trapped in the ice on the comet's surface, using its Mass Spectrometer, they were able to work out its age. "In October 2014 [the mass spectrometer] first measured amounts of molecular nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO) and argon (Ar) in Churi's ice," astatement from CNRS said. "The data was compared with that from laboratory experiments on amorphous ice, as well as from models describing the composition of gas hydrates, a type of crystalline ice in which water molecules can trap molecules of gas."
The amount of nitrogen and argon in the ice allowed the researchers to conclude it has a crystalline structure, making it likely to have come from the protosolar nebula. It's believed the ice formed between -378.4 degrees Fahrenheit and -369.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
CNRS says: "If comets are made of crystalline ice, this means that they must have formed at the same time as the Solar System, rather than earlier in the interstellar medium." The findings could have implications for how life emerged on Earth, and how the solar system itself formed. It also implies that comets were created at the very start of the solar system.
Since the Rosetta and Philae mission in 2014 researchers have been analysing the reams of data sent back from the two spacecraft. So far it has been revealed that the duck-shaped comet was created after two comets collided during the development of the early Solar System. Oxygen has also been found on the comet, but scientists don't know how it got there.
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Philae allowed scientists to detect organic molecules on the comet, which has led some to even suggest that life on Earth may origins on distant icy worlds. It has also been confirmed that the comet is dark grey, after it was suspected it could be brown.
However, Philae, which had a bumpy landing on the comet will not be sending back any more data as it is no longer active.
The probe bounced on reaching the comet's surface, and its final position does not allow any sunlight to hit the onboard solar panels; scientists have given up hope of it rebooting -- a state dubbed "eternal hibernation" by the European Space Agency. Meanwhile Rosetta, which is orbiting the comet, is planned to becrashed into its surface in September.
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