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Ammonium salts are a reservoir of nitrogen on a cometary nucleus and possibly on some asteroids
- Source :
- Science, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2020, 367 (6483), pp.eaaw7462. ⟨10.1126/science.aaw7462⟩, Science, 2020, 367 (6483), pp.eaaw7462. ⟨10.1126/science.aaw7462⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The measured nitrogen-to-carbon ratio in comets is lower than for the Sun, a discrepancy which could be alleviated if there is an unknown reservoir of nitrogen in comets. The nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko exhibits an unidentified broad spectral reflectance feature around 3.2 micrometers, which is ubiquitous across its surface. On the basis of laboratory experiments, we attribute this absorption band to ammonium salts mixed with dust on the surface. The depth of the band indicates that semivolatile ammonium salts are a substantial reservoir of nitrogen in the comet, potentially dominating over refractory organic matter and more volatile species. Similar absorption features appear in the spectra of some asteroids, implying a compositional link between asteroids, comets, and the parent interstellar cloud.<br />Comment: Main manuscript and Supplementary material document, Accepted for publication in Science on February 14, 2020
- Subjects :
- animal structures
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Interstellar cloud
Comet
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]
chemistry.chemical_element
FOS: Physical sciences
01 natural sciences
complex mixtures
Astrobiology
chemistry.chemical_compound
0103 physical sciences
Ammonium
Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Refractory (planetary science)
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Multidisciplinary
520 Astronomy
food and beverages
620 Engineering
Nitrogen
chemistry
13. Climate action
Asteroid
Absorption band
sense organs
biological phenomena, cell phenomena, and immunity
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00368075 and 10959203
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Science, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2020, 367 (6483), pp.eaaw7462. ⟨10.1126/science.aaw7462⟩, Science, 2020, 367 (6483), pp.eaaw7462. ⟨10.1126/science.aaw7462⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....3e5c2ebbb3760f55b3a48a15747a7ecb