The European Space Agency's Rosetta comet probe has measured nitrogen gas at a comet for the first time in history.
The finding could provide insight into the formation of the early universe, the University of Bern reported. Molecular nitrogen is believed to have been the dominant form of nitrogen in the nebula that birthed our universe. The Rosetta technology has allowed researchers to measure this "most wanted molecule" in the atmosphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
"Although some comets like 'Chury' were probably formed in the same region as Triton and Pluto, until now we weren't able to find any molecular nitrogen in them," said Martin Rubin from the Physics Institute at the University of Bern. "Because a comet's water ice can trap only small amounts of it remote sensing as well as in situ analysis were simply not sensitive and precise enough."
The new measurements suggest the comet was formed in a frigid region of our solar system. The findings also back up past evidence that Jupiter-family comets are not the primary source of water on Earth, because they are much richer in other nitrogen-bearing molecules like ammonia. The researchers have dubbed the measurement of molecular nitrogen "another piece of the puzzle" in the mystery of the role Jupiter-family comets played in the early universe.
"But the puzzle is by no means finished yet," said SA's Rosetta project scientist. "Rosetta and Chury are about five months away from perihelion now, and we'll be watching how the composition of the gases changes over this period, and trying to decipher what that tells us about the past life of this comet."
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Science.
