#Rosetta makes first detection of molecular nitrogen at a #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/03/19/rosetta-makes-first-detection-of-molecular-nitrogen-at-a-comet
This news release is mirrored from the ESA portal, published on the occasion of the publication of the paper “Molecular nitrogen in #Comet_67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko indicates a low formation temperature,” by M. Rubin et al. in the journal #Science. ESA’s #rosetta spacecraft has made the first measurement of molecular nitrogen at a comet, providing clues about the temperature environment in which Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko formed. Rosetta arrived last August, and has since been collecting extensive data on the comet and its environment with its suite of 11 #science #Instruments. The in situ detection of molecular nitrogen has long been sought at a comet. Nitrogen had only previously been detected bound up in other compounds, including hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, for example. Its detection (...)