Scientists discover oxygen — on a comet

A new report in Nature reveals that "abundant molecular oxygen" has been found for the very first time on a comet, surprising astronomers and shedding new light on the origins of the solar system.

The observations were taken from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko between September 2014 and March 2015 by a European Space Agency spacecraft. As 67P nudged toward the Sun, solar radiation vaporized the ice and gas on comet's surface. Data from this "halo" around the comet were taken by a mass spectrometer.

The researchers suggest that the oxygen molecules were trapped in grains of ice some 4.6 billion years ago, during the dawn of our solar system. The problem is, current models of the solar system's origins don't allow for the presence of oxygen. This discovery "will likely discredit some theoretical models of the formation of the solar system," said Kathrin Altwegg of the University of Bern, who is a co-author of the report.

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