(Photo : ESA - C. Carreau/ATG medialab)
Posted on 11/15/2014 1:28:14 AM PST by Swordmaker
ROSINA, the mass spectrometer aboard the Rosetta spacecraft gives scientists an idea how comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko smells like: it stinks.
Given its distance from the Earth, it seems far-fetched to have an idea what comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the target comet of the Rosetta mission, smells like.
The Rosetta spacecraft of the European Space Agency has so far hinted scientists on how the comet looks like but it appears that the robotic space probe isn't just equipped to take images. It also has an instrument on board that can give scientists clues on what the comet smells like. Rosetta has a device called Rosetta Orbiter Sensor for Ion and Neutral Analysis, or ROSINA, a mass spectrometer which can analyze the signature of gas from the comet's coma that envelops 67P/C-G as it draws closer to the sun.
With the aid of ROSINA, scientists can "smell" the comet and it appears that its whiff is not something that people want to be nearby. ROSINA principal investigator Kathrin Altwegg described the scent to be a mixture of rotten eggs, horse stable, formaldehyde and alcohol, which means that the comet stinks.
Altwegg said that the "perfume" of the comet is a bit strong due to the presence of hydrogen sulphide which gives off the odor of rotten eggs, ammonia that smells like horse stable and formaldehyde.
"This is mixed with the faint, bitter, almond-like aroma of hydrogen cyanide," Altwegg said. "Add some whiff of alcohol (methanol) to this mixture, paired with the vinegar-like aroma of sulphur dioxide and a hint of the sweet aromatic scent of carbon disulphide."
ROSINA detected molecules that include ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulphide and methane. The scientists behind ROSINA believed that only carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, the most volatile molecules would be released as the icy surface of the comet begins to warm and the detection of the instrument of a number of different molecules at this stage when the comet is still more than 400 million kilometers from the Sun actually comes as a surprise.
ESA said that a detailed analysis of the chemical makeup of the comet and how this changes when the comet becomes more active will help scientists determine the composition of the comet.
The Rosetta mission was launched to orbit around 67P/C-G and land the Philae lander on its surface in a bid to learn more about the comet, which scientists hope could light on the history of the solar system. Rosetta's lander is scheduled for landing on the surface of the comet next month.
The “sounds” were really radio signals, sped up to the range of human hearing. The “smells” are just the detected chemical signatures, near the surface of the comet. I think they use these notions to make the pop-sci articles more digestible to the public.
It's because we know what these chemicals smell like. They always smell like that.
Just curious, who took THAT photo?
Not in space.
It’ll make you vomit.
It makes your teeth turn green.
I think Obola was rolling around on it like a dog. That would explain the flies.
LOL! Must have been the chap in Reply #7. Seriously, the folks at ESA are playing fast and loose with images. Yesterday's Sacramento Bee had a lede from them about Philae that it was drilling 14 inches into the comet. . . second paragraph was about how they really didn't know where it was and how they had been unable to anchor it down.
Then they provided a supposed PHOTOGRAPH of Philae on the surface of the Comet!!! If they don't know where it is, how in blazes did they take a photo of it??? And, if they couldn't anchor the lander to allow the landing pad screws to deploy, how can a much more forceful auger drill penetrate 14 inches into the surface to take samples??? Also, if your battery is dying and you're worried about energy to get your data home, don't drill 14", drill 7", and save some energy to be assured you have juice to transmit! These guys are rocket scientists?
It was only later that someone thought to say, "Oh, that photo was a composite picture of what we think Philae might look like on the surface." It was photoshopped!
A chemical has the same properties no matter where it is. The perception of those properties is dependent on observation. . . and the receptors used to interpret those perceptions. Some observers use instruments. . . and can determine what other observers using other receptors would perceive. In this instance, the interpretation of the data provided by the instruments used by the probe in space has determined that IF a human snozzola of the appropriately sensitive nature perceived these particular chemicals in an environment that would not be instantly fatal, that human would interpret these to have the aroma of horse pee, vinegar, bitter almonds, and pre-chickens that have become extremely late in hatching, etc. . .
Then there are people who have no sense of humor.
I tend to believe that it is a well developed sense of humor that prevents me from finding such references humorous.
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