Rosetta – My WordPress Site

D/H ratios in solar system and extrasolar sources. Ratios are for methane except when noted otherwise. Sources for which the D/H ratio in c−C3H2 was used to estimate the D/H in CH4 are denoted with a ⋆. References and values for each object are given in Extended Data Table 3. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Isotopic Signature of Organic Molecules from Beyond the Solar System: An Enriched Methane D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2026March 27, 2026

Interstellar objects are interlopers from other planetary systems, and their volatile compositions provide a glimpse into planet formation around their host star. We present near-infrared spectra of the coma of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS measured with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Cloud cover can keep optical instruments on satellites from clearly capturing Earth's surface. Still in testing, JPL's Dynamic Targeting uses AI to avoid imaging clouds, yielding a higher proportion of usable data, and to focus on phenomena like this 2015 volcanic eruption in Indonesia Landsat 8 captured. Credit: NASA/USGS

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Cubesats and smallsats, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Missions & Hardware, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Recon: Use Of AI to Make Earth-Observing Satellites Smarter

by Keith CowingAugust 12, 2025August 12, 2025

Recent Chemo-morphological Coma Evolution of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Recent Chemo-morphological Coma Evolution of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

by Keith CowingJuly 21, 2025July 21, 2025

Composite image of a star-forming region (left) and Comet 67P (right). In the center is the ammonium hydrosulfide salt (NH4SH) that both appear to have in common, and which explains, among other things, why there is less volatile sulfur in star-forming regions than expected. (c) NASA/ESA/CSA/M. Zamani (ESA/Webb); ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM; K. Slavicinska.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Lost Sulfur In The Universe Found In Salt On Dust And Pebbles

by Keith CowingFebruary 3, 2025February 2, 2025

comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko -- ESA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

The Refractory-to-ice ratio in Comet 67P: Implications on the Composition of the Comet-forming Region of the Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2025January 31, 2025

This image, taken by ESA’s Rosetta navigation camera, was taken from a about 53 miles from the center of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on March 14, 2015. The image resolution is 24 feet per pixel and is cropped and processed to bring out the details of the comet's activity. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware

NASA-Led Team Links Comet Water to Earth’s Oceans

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2024December 9, 2024

Dimethyl Sulfide -- Wikipedia

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Evidence For Abiotic Dimethyl Sulfide In Cometary Matter

by Keith CowingOctober 16, 2024October 16, 2024

The predicted uncompressed density of the Pluto-Charon system (colored curves) as the fraction of the protosolar C inventory contained in refractory organics increases from 0% to 100%, assuming the canonical protosolar abundances in Lodders 2021 (L21, see Table 1). The horizontal black dashed line represents the average uncompressed density of the system ∼ 1800 kg m−3 (Barr & Schwamb 2016; McKinnon et al. 2017), taken to be the most representative value we have for the bulk composition of large KBOs. The gray area shows the 3σ uncertainty (± 20 kg m−3 , Brozovi´c et al. 2015, McKinnon et al. 2017, Nimmo et al. 2017). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids

A Broad Set of Solar and Cosmochemical Data Indicates High C-N-O Abundances For Our Solar System

by Keith CowingSeptember 16, 2024September 16, 2024

the NASA Mars Perseverance Rover by CircuitMess

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Varying Water Activity and Momentum Transfer on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko From its non-gravitational Forces and Torques

by Keith CowingAugust 22, 2024August 22, 2024

European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) Academy

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids

The Extent of Formation of Organic Molecules in the Comae of Comets Showing Relatively High Activity

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2024May 24, 2024