Researchers said they found a total of 21 different organic molecules in the gas released by Comet Lovejoy.
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The presence of organic molecules on comets has been shown time and time again, including on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet the European Space Agency’s Philae lander made its home. According to study lead Nicolas Biver of the Paris Observatory, comet Lovejoy was “releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity“.
Since comets contain a few of the oldest and most primitive material in the solar system, scientists regard them as time capsules, offering a peek into the past. Being relatively close to the sun caused the heated comet to release various gases, and scientists used the opportunity to figure out what kind of molecules they were composed of. But are these complex molecules exclusively found on Earth and the like, or could it be other celestial carriers for them, commuting to other habitable zones of the universe?
“The result definitely promotes the idea the comets carry very complex chemistry”, said co-author Stefanie Milam, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
It is commonly assumed that life was first originated on Earth in a primordial soup or a warm pond around four billion years ago by making ever more complex molecules from simpler ones till the organic molecules were introduced to the barren Earth and paved the way for emerging microscopic life, which was the sole form of life for over two billion years. “Instead, life had something that was much more sophisticated on a molecular level”, she said. The finding adds to the evidence that comets could have been a source of the complex organic molecules necessary for the emergence of life. But if you were inclined to make the trek, it’s nice to know you’d find an open bar.
Astronomers first spotted Lovejoy in 2014, though that wasn’t hard given that it is among the brightest comets to travel through the solar system since Hale-Bopp in 1997.
Discovered just past year, comet C/2014 Q2 (or Comet Lovejoy) has baffled amateur and professional astronomers on its long journey over the ecliptic of the solar system. By the standards of a bar, the drinks were pretty weak. Sugar compounds are needed in order to ferment into alcohol. Feel free not to tip.
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Comet Lovejoy swung around our sun for the first time in 8,000 years back in January. Simple biology may require nothing more than chemistry plus energy plus sufficient time to slow-cook.
