In early 2016, an icy comet from the edge of our solar system flew past Earth.For a short time, she
This event helped explain our ownorigin, as it becomes apparent that comets like Catalina may have been an important source of carbon on planets like Earth and Mars during the early formation of the solar system.
We're still not sure if Earth could have trapped enough carbon on its own during its formation, so carbon-rich comets could have been an important source of thisan important element that led to life as we know it."
Charles Woodward, astrophysicist and professor, Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota
Originating from the Oort Cloud in the farthest reachesof our solar system, comet Catalina and other comets of this type have such long orbits that they arrive in our system in a relatively unchanged form. This makes them appear to be frozen in time, offering researchers a rare opportunity to learn about the early system from which they came.
SOFIA infrared observations allowedfix the composition of dust and gas as it evaporated from the comet, forming its tail. Observations have shown that Comet Catalina is rich in carbon, suggesting that it formed in the outer regions of the original system, which contained a reservoir of carbon that may have been important for the origin of life.
Although carbon is a key ingredientlife, the early Earth and other terrestrial planets were so hot during their formation that elements such as carbon were lost or depleted. While cooler gas giants such as Jupiter and Neptune may have sustained carbon in the outer solar system, for example, Jupiter's gigantic size could gravitationally block carbon mixing in the inner solar system.
Researchers believe that a small changeJupiter's orbits allowed small early cometary precursors to mix carbon from the outer regions into the inner regions, where it was incorporated into planets such as Earth and Mars.
Comet Catalina's carbon-rich composition helpsExplain how planets that formed in the hot, carbon-poor regions of the early solar system evolved into planets with a life-sustaining element.
Observations of additional new cometsare needed to find out if there are many other carbon-rich comets in the Oort Cloud, further confirming that comets are delivering carbon and other life-sustaining elements to terrestrial planets. The mobility of SOFIA, the world's largest aerial observatory, allows the observation of newly discovered comets as they pass through the solar system.
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