Deep Impact probe shows ice on comet's surface
Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 16:48 CST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comet Tempel 1, the target of NASA's Deep Impact space probe, has three patches of ice on its surface, but most of the frozen water probably lurks deeper inside, scientists reported on Thursday.
This marks the first time ice has been detected on the nucleus, or solid body, of any comet, researchers reported in the online version of the journal Science.
Deep Impact slammed into Tempel 1 last July 4, aiming to collect data about the comet's heart.
Comets are of particular interest because they are believed to be made up of the leftover debris from the gas, dust, rocks and ice that formed the outer planets in our solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.
Scientists have long known that comets contain substantial amounts of ice, but before Deep Impact, they did not know how ice was distributed throughout the comet's nucleus.
Some astronomers believe comets "seeded" Earth with some of the water and carbon-based molecules that make up living things.
The three small patches of ice on Tempel 1's surface are not enough to account for the water vapor in the cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the comet's nucleus, Deep Impact scientists said in a statement.
"These new findings are significant because they show that our technique is effective in finding ice when it is on the surface and that we can therefore firmly conclude that most of the water vapor that escapes from comets is contained in ice particles found below the surface," said Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, the project's principal investigator.
The surface ice was detected by analysis of observations made by the probe before it crashed into the comet. The crash itself sent ice and water vapor blasting off the comet, and analysis of this ejected material found that it must have come from ice located close to, but not on, the comet's surface.
Source: REUTERS
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