Comet contains glycine, key part of recipe for life

An important amino acid called glycine has been detected in a comet for the first time, supporting the theory that these cosmic bodies delivered the ingredients for life on Earth, researchers said Friday.

Team identifies clathrate ices in comet 67P

For decades, scientists have agreed that comets are mostly water ice, but what kind of ice—amorphous or crystalline—is still up for debate. Looking at data obtained by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft in the atmosphere, or coma, ...

The colour-changing comet

Rosetta's comet has been seen changing colour and brightness in front of the ESA orbiter's eyes, as the Sun's heat strips away the older surface to reveal fresher material.

Type of ice reveals the age of comets

The ice buried inside comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko is mainly found in crystalline form, which implies that it originated in the protosolar nebula and is therefore the same age as the Solar System. This discovery was made ...

Farewell to Philae?

How do you say goodbye to a valued colleague with whom you have worked closely for almost two decades? Maybe there is a farewell party, a collection for a gift, a bunch of flowers? If the colleague is moving to an exciting ...

Inside Rosetta's comet

There are no large caverns inside Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's Rosetta mission has made measurements that clearly demonstrate this, solving a long-standing mystery.

Last-chance bid to contact space robot Philae

Scientists initiated Friday a last-chance manoeuvre to contact a long-silent robot-lab dropped more than a year ago onto the surface of a comet hurtling through our solar system.

Colors of a comet

OSIRIS, the scientific imaging system of ESA's Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, shows a surface with subtle, but significant color variations.

Rosetta finds molecular oxygen on comet 67P (Update)

Stunned scientists announced Wednesday the unexpected discovery of large quantities of oxygen on a comet which streaked past the Sun in August with a European spacecraft in tow.

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