On November 12 last year, the Philae probe had a bumpy landing on Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but that did not stop send a wealth of scientific data back to Earth while it was operating.
The journal Science has published a special edition with seven works on its discovery. According to the data sent by the instruments, the probe is supported on a layer of less than 3 cm and a compact powder mixture of ice and dust. Its sensors indicate that the temperature at the surface of the comet varies between -180 ° C and -145 ° C during the day. But that’s not all: multiple devices molecules collected from a height of 10 km after initial contact and until it finally landed on its surface. This process had 16 organic compounds, four of which had never been detected in a comet. Among them are some that can lead to the creation of amino acids and sugars that can be found in the DNA molecules.
So far, many of the assumptions about comets were based on indirect observations. Now for the first time, scientists have first hand information about their composition. To get a better idea of its interior, directed electromagnetic signals through the core to Rosetta, who was on the opposite side. This allowed them to determine that it has a porosity of 75 to 85%.
The collection of images taken by the cameras of Philae reveal a fractured grainy with a variety of surface rocks. Scientists say that this information will allow them to understand as never before the nature of comets. .
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