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Using the COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) instrument aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft, the researchers detected phosphorus and fluorine in solid particles collected from the inner coma of Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
This false color image of the 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by the Rosetta navigation camera on June 15, 2015 from a distance of 207 km from the center of the comet. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.
Comets are remnants of the protoplanetary disk around the young Sun.
Having formed beyond the line of ice orbiting the Sun, on average, at greater distances than the asteroid belt and experiencing less processing, they are believed to represent the most pristine matter in the Solar System.
The first detection of phosphorus in a comet was made in 1986 in the spectra of comet dust collected during the flyby of Comet 1P / Halley by NASA’s Vega 1 mission.
It was also detected in dust particles collected by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft during the flyby of Comet 81P / Wild in 2004, and returned to Earth in 2006.
“Another detection of phosphorus and fluorine came from the ROSINA instrument aboard the Rosetta,” said co-lead author Dr. Harry Lehto of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Turku and his colleagues.
“In that case, elemental phosphorus, phosphorus monoxide (PO) and carbon monofluoride (CF) were detected in the gas phase of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko.”
‘We report here the detection of phosphorus and fluorine in mass spectra measured from solid dust particles of this comet.’
For the study, the scientists analyzed a series of spectra of 24 solid particles collected by the COSIMA instrument in the vicinity of 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
They found phosphorus P.+ ions and CF+ secondary ions originating from comet dust.
“We have shown that apatite minerals are not the source of phosphorus, which implies that the discovered phosphorus comes in a smaller and possibly more soluble form,” said Dr. Lehto.
“This result completes the detection of CHNOPS elements necessary for life in solid comet matter, indicating comet delivery as a potential source of these elements for the young Earth.”
A findings paper was published in Royal Astronomical Society Monthly Notices.
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Esko Gardner et al. 2020. The detection of solid phosphorus and fluorine in the dust from the coma of comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko. MNRAS 499 (2): 1870-1873; doi: 10.1093 / mnras / staa2950
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