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19-01-2016, 09:00 PM
Researchers, includingResearchers, including one of Indian-origin, have identified two large patches of water ice on the surface of comet 67P, perhaps the most studied comet in history.
The elusive ice was detected, us ing data collected by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, on the bottom part of the main lobe of the dumbbell-shaped comet, in a region called Imhotep. It appeared as noticeably bright patches in visible light and was located on cliff walls and debris falls, researchers said.
"It looked like there was a break age, or something fell down on the surface of the comet, and a large, new inside area that had water ice was exposed," said Murthy Gudipati from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and one of the paper's authors. The surface of 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, like most comets, is mainly covered by materials so dark they appear almost black.
This is because as comets fly towards the sun, they are exposed to warm temperatures that cause surface ice to sublimate, or transform directly from solid to gas, LA Times reported. What remains are materials similar to rocks, sand and ash on Earth, researchers said.
The elusive ice was detected, us ing data collected by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, on the bottom part of the main lobe of the dumbbell-shaped comet, in a region called Imhotep. It appeared as noticeably bright patches in visible light and was located on cliff walls and debris falls, researchers said.
"It looked like there was a break age, or something fell down on the surface of the comet, and a large, new inside area that had water ice was exposed," said Murthy Gudipati from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and one of the paper's authors. The surface of 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, like most comets, is mainly covered by materials so dark they appear almost black.
This is because as comets fly towards the sun, they are exposed to warm temperatures that cause surface ice to sublimate, or transform directly from solid to gas, LA Times reported. What remains are materials similar to rocks, sand and ash on Earth, researchers said.
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