Detection of acetylene in the infrared spectrum of comet Hyakutake.
Nature
; 383(6601): 606-8, 1996 Oct 17.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-8857534
ABSTRACT
Comets are rich in volatile materials, of which roughly 80% (by number) are water molecules. Considerable progress is being made in identifying the other volatile species, the abundances of which should enable us to determine whether comets formed primarily from ice-covered interstellar grains, or from material that was chemically processed in the early solar nebula. Here we report the detection of acetylene (C2H2) in the infrared spectrum of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). The estimated abundance is 0.3-0.9%, relative to water, which is comparable to the predicted solid-phase abundance in cold interstellar clouds. This suggests that the volatiles in comet Hyakotake may have come from ice-covered interstellar grains, rather than material processed in the accretion disk out of which the Solar System formed.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Acetylene
/
Meteoroids
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Nature
Year:
1996
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States
Publication country:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM