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Content with the tag: “comets”
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'Ultra-Primitive' Particles Found in Comet Dust
Scanning electron images of two dust particles E1 (panel A) and G4 (B) and secondary ion mass spectrometry isotopic ratio maps (C–D). Oxygen isotope maps of particles E1 (C) and G4 (D) show four and seven isotopically anomalous regions, indicated by circles, which have been identified as presolar grains. The scale bars are 2 microns.Dust samples collected by high-flying aircraft in the upper atmosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from NAI’s Carnegie Institution of Washington team in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. The stratospheric dust includes minute grains that likely formed inside stars that lived and died long before the birth of our sun, as well as material from molecular clouds in interstellar space. This “ultra-primitive” material likely wafted into the atmosphere after the Earth passed through the trail of an Earth-crossing comet in 2003, giving scientists a rare opportunity to...
Source: [Link]
November 2, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Comets May Give Life a Hand
A comet hitting Earth would seem to bring only death and destruction, but one group is studying how such an impact could promote certain necessary chemical steps in the origin of life. The researchers are focusing on how comet collisions might have influenced the molecular orientation, or handedness, of our planet’s biology.
Source: [astrobio.net]
September 24, 2009 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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Marco Polo and Meteorites
Asteroids and comets have been a major focus of recent NASA missions. From Deep Impact to Stardust, and the current Dawn mission, astrobiologists have been examining these fascinating celestial bodies in order to understand the role they may have played in the origin of life on our planet. These rocks in space are also ancient records from a time when our solar system was being born. The wealth of scientific information that can be gleaned from asteroids has also sparked interest from space agencies outside of the United States....Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
December 2, 2008 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Astrobiology and Stardust
Carl Sagan once said “We are all star stuff.” But how? What does that really mean? One of the fundamental questions of astrobiology, how does life originate and evolve?, provides a structure in which to examine the relationship between life and the cosmos. Everywhere life has been found on Earth, which is essentially every place in which it has been sought, life’s intimate connection with water has also been found. Within the framework of contemplating life’s cosmic origins, one must also ask about the history of water on Earth. NASA’s Stardust mission has provided the opportunity for astrobiologists to gain deeper insight into this history.
December 14, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Chance to View Stardust Return
NASA’s Stardust mission is nearing Earth after a four billion kilometer round-trip journey to bring back comet dust samples. Viewers in California, Oregon, and Nevada have a chance to see the fiery entry of the return capsule into Earth’s atmosphere in the early morning of Sunday January 15 (approximately 2 a.m. PST, 3 a.m. MST).
January 10, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
A search for Main Belt Comets in Pan-STARRS 1
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2
Chemical Models of Nebular Processes
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1
Composition of Parent Volatiles in Comets: Oxidized Carbon
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES:
Current Status and Future Bioastronomy with the Large Millimeter Telescope
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1
Module 1: The Building Blocks of Life
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 3.2, 4.2, 7.1
Observations and Models of comet 17P/Holmes
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2
Organic and Inorganic Acids from Ion-irradiated Ices
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2, 3.1, 7.1
Origin and Evolution of Organics
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 3.1
Prebiotic Organics from Space
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.4, 4.3, 7.1, 7.2
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