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Related: About this forumCERES HAS EVEN MORE ORGANIC MOLECULES ON IT THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
Article written: 17 Jun , 2018
by Matt Williams
In March of 2015, NASAs Dawn mission became the first spacecraft to visit the protoplanet Ceres, the largest body in the Main Asteroid Belt. It was also the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet, having arrived a few months before the New Horizons mission made its historic flyby of Pluto. Since that time, Dawn has revealed much about Ceres, which in turn is helping scientists to understand the early history of the Solar System.
Last year, scientists with NASAs Dawn mission made a startling discovery when they detected complex chains of carbon molecules organic material essential for life in patches on the surface of Ceres. And now, thanks to a new study conducted by a team of researchers from Brown University (with the support of NASA), it appears that these patches contain more organic material than previously thought.
The new findings were recently published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters under the title New Constraints on the Abundance and Composition of Organic Matter on Ceres. The study was led by Hannah Kaplan, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University, with the assistance of Ralph E. Milliken and Conel M. OD. Alexander an assistant professor at Brown University and a researcher from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, respectively.
The organic materials in question are known as aliphatics, a type of compound where carbon atoms form open chains that are commonly bound with oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine. To be fair, the presence of organic material on Ceres does not mean that the body supports life since such molecules can arise from non-biological processes.
More:
https://www.universetoday.com/139478/ceres-has-even-more-organic-molecules-on-it-than-previously-thought/
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CERES HAS EVEN MORE ORGANIC MOLECULES ON IT THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Jun 2018
OP
marble falls
(57,162 posts)1. Now all we have to do is hang around a couple of million years to see...
what develops.
Sancho
(9,070 posts)2. Interesting...thanks Judi Lynn
One of my favorite Star Trek story lines was the return of Voyager (VGER)...if we keep sending explorers, we will find amazing things.