This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 disintegrating in 2006 shows the tails and comas of the individual pieces of the comet; new research on comet composition included infrared spectrography of this comet during its breakup. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (APL), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (STScI)
A new study has revealed similarities and relationships between certain types of chemicals found on 30 different comets, which vary widely in their overall composition compared to one another. The research is part of ongoing investigations into these primordial bodies, which contain material largely unchanged from the birth of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.
By studying the composition of hazy comas and tails of these comets, researchers found tha...
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