Comet Catalina (IMAGE)

University of Minnesota

Comet Catalina

Caption

This illustration of a comet from the Oort Cloud as it passes through the inner solar system with dust and gas evaporating into its tail. SOFIA's observations of Comet Catalina reveal that it's carbon-rich, suggesting that comets delivered carbon to the terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars as they formed in the early solar system.

Credit

Credit: NASA/SOFIA/ Lynette Cook.

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