- A new study indicates that all comets were born in the same place.
- They originated next to Sun when it was younger, before the formation of planets.
- The process took anywhere from 100,000 to 1 million years, which might explain the difference in the composition of comets.
Scientists believe that comets were born right next to Sun, in the early universe.
It's only because planets started to form later, that these comets were flung all over space, according to a new study accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Origin story
Comets are made up of ice, dust and small rocks. Their composition is what sets them apart from asteroids — space rocks made up of clay, silicate and different metals.
"We know what comets consist of and which molecules are present in them. They vary in composition, but are normally seen as just one group of icy balls. Therefore, I wanted to know whether comets are indeed one group, or whether different subsets can be made," said Christian Eistrup, the lead author of the paper.
He found that all comets were born somewhere close to the Sun. The Sun was fairly young at the time. It was — so young that it was still surrounded by the dense gas and dust that occurs when a new star is formed.
Planets were yet to make their way into existence, to form the celestial bodies that we are familiar with today.
As cold as ice
Eistrup was able to pin down the point of origin to a zone around the Sun where carbon monoxide was turning into ice. Next to the Sun, but far from its nucleus.
The distance allowed temperatures to dip between -250 degrees Celsius.
Because it's so cold within that range, every molecule present was turned into ice.
Take your time
The birth of comets didn't happen overnight. It took anywhere between 100,000 years to a million years for comets to form.
The slow speed of reactions could explain why comets have varied composition even though they're born in the same place.
"Although we now think they formed in similar locations around the
The only thing is that Eistrup only had 14 samples to conduct his research. Ideally, more data on different comets would go a long way to confirm what they have already found.
Comets and Earth already have a very close connection. Scientists believe that it was comets crashing into the planet that first created life on Earth. "And if the right comet hits the right planet, with the right environment, life could start growing," said Eistrup.
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