67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a Jupiter family comet with a high D/H ratio
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Authors
Altwegg, K.
Balsiger, H.
Bar-Nun, A.
Berthelier, J.J.
Bieler, A.
Bochsler, P.
Briois, C.
Calmonte, U.
Combi, M.
De Keyser, J.
Eberhardt, P.
Fiethe, B.
Fuselier, S.
Gasc, S.
Gombosi, T.I.
Hansen, K.C.
Hassig, M.
Jackel, A.
Kopp, E.
Korth, A.
LeRoy, L.
Mall, U.
Marty, B.
Mousis, O.
Neefs, E.
Owen, T.
Reme, H.
Rubin, M.
Semon, T.
Tzou, C.-T.
Wait, H.
Wurz, P.
Discipline
Natural sciences
Audience
Scientific
Date
2015Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
The provenance of water and organic compounds on Earth and other terrestrial planets has been discussed for a long time without reaching a consensus. One of the best means to distinguish between different scenarios is by determining the deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratios in the reservoirs for comets and Earth’s oceans. Here, we report the direct in situ measurement of the D/H ratio in the Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the ROSINA mass spectrometer aboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft, which is found to be (5.3 ± 0.7) × 10−4—that is, approximately three times the terrestrial value. Previous cometary measurements and our new finding suggest a wide range of D/H ratios in the water within Jupiter family objects and preclude the idea that this reservoir is solely composed of Earth ocean–like water.
Citation
Altwegg, K.; Balsiger, H.; Bar-Nun, A.; Berthelier, J.J.; Bieler, A.; Bochsler, P.; Briois, C.; Calmonte, U.; Combi, M.; De Keyser, J.; Eberhardt, P.; Fiethe, B.; Fuselier, S.; Gasc, S.; Gombosi, T.I.; Hansen, K.C.; Hassig, M.; Jackel, A.; Kopp, E.; Korth, A.; LeRoy, L.; Mall, U.; Marty, B.; Mousis, O.; Neefs, E.; Owen, T.; Reme, H.; Rubin, M.; Semon, T.; Tzou, C.-T.; Wait, H.; Wurz, P. (2015). 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a Jupiter family comet with a high D/H ratio. , Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6220, 1261952, DOI: 10.1126/science.1257377.Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng