A graphic depicting the release of molecular oxygen and other volatile molecules from two reservoirs inside comet 67P. (IMAGE)
Caption
A graphic depicting the release of molecular oxygen and other volatile molecules from two reservoirs inside comet 67P. The two insets show a deep reservoir of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and molecular oxygen (the cream-colored dots) that is constantly releasing its contents from comet 67P. The blue dots are molecular oxygen that got trapped in water ice while moving from the deep reservoir toward the surface (labeled H2O-O2, in blue), forming a shallower reservoir that only releases its contents when the surface is warmed and the comet is sufficiently close to the Sun. The lines ahead of the comet (both bottom-right and top-left) are the periods that the new study analyzed. The change from blue to cream in the line after postperihelion equinox is when the research team found emitted molecular oxygen stopped associating with water and correlated with carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Credit
Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich
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