Big Soft Theory

Big Soft Theory

H/T Mark Traphagen 

#solarsystem   #comet  

Originally shared by Friends of NASA

Surprise comet discovery suggests 'gentle' Solar System start | BBC
The Rosetta spacecraft has discovered molecular oxygen in the cloud of gas surrounding the comet it is tracking. The discovery has come as a complete surprise to scientists who thought that oxygen would have reacted with other elements as planets were forming. The results indicate that current ideas about how our Solar System formed may be wrong.

The study has been published in the journal, Nature.
Researchers used Rosetta's Rosina instrument to "sniff" the atmosphere around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as the probe trailed the icy body over a six-month period.

Surprise gas
They found that free oxygen was the fourth most common gas around the comet, after water vapor, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide...

Credit: BBC News 

European Space Agency, ESA 
DLR, German Aerospace Center 

#ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Comet #Rosetta #Spacecraft #Comet67P #Churyumov #Gerasimenko #Cosmos #Universe #DLR #Oxygen #Molecular #SolarSystem
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34660576

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