High-molecular-weight organic matter in the particles of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
The presence of solid carbonaceous matter in cometary dust was established by the detection of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in particles from comet 1P/Halley. Such matter is generally thought to have originated in the interstellar medium, but it might have formed in the solar nebula-the cloud of gas and dust that was left over after the Sun formed. This solid carbonaceous material cannot be observed from Earth, so it has eluded unambiguous characterization. Many gaseous organic molecules, however, have been observed; they come mostly from the sublimation of ices at the surface or in the subsurface of cometary nuclei. These ices could have been formed from material inherited from the interstellar medium that suffered little processing in the solar nebula. Here we report the in situ detection of solid organic matter in the dust particles emitted by comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; the carbon in this organic material is bound in very large macromolecular compounds, analogous to the insoluble organic matter found in the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The organic matter in meteorites might have formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar nebula, but was almost certainly modified in the meteorites' parent bodies. We conclude that the observed cometary carbonaceous solid matter could have the same origin as the meteoritic insoluble organic matter, but suffered less modification before and/or after being incorporated into the comet.
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France.
Nicolas
N
Fray
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France.|Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France.
Anaïs
A
Bardyn
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France.
Hervé
H
Cottin
Center for Space and Habitability (CSH), University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Kathrin
K
Altwegg
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris Sud, Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay, France.
Donia
D
Baklouti
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France.
Christelle
C
Briois
European Space Agency, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Luigi
L
Colangeli
Centre de Sciences Nucléaires et de Sciences de la Matière, CNRS/IN2P3 - Université Paris Sud - UMR 8609, Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment 104, 91405 Orsay Campus, France.
Cécile
C
Engrand
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Henning
H
Fischer
Universität Wuppertal, FB-E, Lehrstuhl für Messtechnik, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany.
Albrecht
A
Glasmachers
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
Eberhard
E
Grün
Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching, Germany.
Gerhard
G
Haerendel
von Hoerner und Sulger GmbH, Schlossplatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany.
Hartmut
H
Henkel
Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching, Germany.
Herwig
H
Höfner
Universität der Bundeswehr LRT-7, Werner Heisenberg Weg 39, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany.
Klaus
K
Hornung
Institut für Planetologie, Universität Münster, Berghalde 31f, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany.
Elmar K
EK
Jessberger
von Hoerner und Sulger GmbH, Schlossplatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany.
Andreas
A
Koch
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Harald
H
Krüger
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris Sud, Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay, France.
Yves
Y
Langevin
Tuorla Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Väisäläntie 20, 21500 Piikkiö, Finland.
Harry
H
Lehto
Laboratory of Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, PharmaCity, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 4B 6 krs, 20520 University of Turku, Finland.
Kirsi
K
Lehto
Center for Space and Habitability (CSH), University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Léna
L
Le Roy
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Sihane
S
Merouane
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France.|Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France.
Paola
P
Modica
Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, UMR 5274, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, 38000 Grenoble, France.
François-Régis
FR
Orthous-Daunay
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
John
J
Paquette
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 94000 Créteil, France.
François
F
Raulin
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Observation Services, Erik Palménin Aukio 1, 00560 Helsinki, Finland.
Jouni
J
Rynö
European Space Agency, Scientific Support Office, Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Rita
R
Schulz
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Observation Services, Erik Palménin Aukio 1, 00560 Helsinki, Finland.
Johan
J
Silén
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Box 857, 501 15 Borås, Sweden.
Sandra
S
Siljeström
RC Seibersdorf Research GmbH Business Field Aerospace Technology, 2444 Seibersdorf, Austria.
Wolfgang
W
Steiger
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Oliver
O
Stenzel
University of Chicago, Department of the Geophysical Sciences, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Thomas
T
Stephan
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France.
Laurent
L
Thirkell
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), CNRS/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans, France.
Roger
R
Thomas
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Schmiedlstrasse 6, 8042 Graz, Austria.
Klaus
K
Torkar
Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 7/105-6, 1040 Vienna, Austria.
Kurt
K
Varmuza
Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, FB 2, NW 2, A0110, Universität Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany.
Karl-Peter
KP
Wanczek
Tuorla Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, Väisäläntie 20, 21500 Piikkiö, Finland.
Boris
B
Zaprudin
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Jochen
J
Kissel
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Martin
M
Hilchenbach