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Comet Lovejoy Giving Away Alcohol (eurekalert.org)
Thorfinn.au writes: Comet Lovejoy lived up to its name by releasing large amounts of alcohol as well as a type of sugar into space, according to new observations by an international team. The discovery marks the first time ethyl alcohol, the same type in alcoholic beverages, has been observed in a comet. The finding adds to the evidence that comets could have been a source of the complex organic molecules necessary for the emergence of life.
'We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity,' said Nicolas Biver of the Paris Observatory, France, lead author of a paper on the discovery published Oct. 23 in Science Advances. The team found 21 different organic molecules in gas from the comet, including ethyl alcohol and glycolaldehyde, a simple sugar.
Comets are frozen remnants from the formation of our solar system. Scientists are interested in them because they are relatively pristine and therefore hold clues to how the solar system was made. Most orbit in frigid zones far from the sun. However, occasionally, a gravitational disturbance sends a comet closer to the sun, where it heats up and releases gases, allowing scientists to determine its composition.
'We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity,' said Nicolas Biver of the Paris Observatory, France, lead author of a paper on the discovery published Oct. 23 in Science Advances. The team found 21 different organic molecules in gas from the comet, including ethyl alcohol and glycolaldehyde, a simple sugar.
Comets are frozen remnants from the formation of our solar system. Scientists are interested in them because they are relatively pristine and therefore hold clues to how the solar system was made. Most orbit in frigid zones far from the sun. However, occasionally, a gravitational disturbance sends a comet closer to the sun, where it heats up and releases gases, allowing scientists to determine its composition.
It's interesting that they are finding organic compounds on comets. It's not much more complex to get to amino acids which are the building blocks of life. Perhaps the earth was seeded with enough organic material to jump start simple life forms. We might all be from alien origin.
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These measurements are made using a spectrograph, right? Then what is the difference between the comet spitting out carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in more-or-less the same relative quantities as found in alcohol, and pure, molecular alcohol? I mean, have they verified that it is alcohol and not acetone? How does one verify the (complex) molecular composition of something when you can only see its light?
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity
An angry person writes:
So how much ethyl alcohol? Using standard dimensions as assumptions:
500 bottles at 750ml: 375 litres
375 litres of wine at 13% = 50 litres [*]
Just say that next time, k? At what point in the reporting chain did this idiocy get introduced? It's ejecting around 50 litres of ethyl alcohol. Simple. Now go away.
[*} adjusted ABV from 12 to 13% to get 50 litres - a more likely estimated figure
Does that mean it's on an irregular, erratic orbit, and should be pulled over and given a breathalyzer test before it endangers any inhabited planets?
The alcohol may be free, but the delivery charges are out of this world.
Learn to love Alaska
Never before has so many alcoholics wanted to be an astronaut as of this discovery.
I could swear I saw Barney Gumble at Nasa's main entrance yesterday.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
I would pay dearly for a bottle of comet wine that has aged 1 billion years.
Yes, by definition it pairs well with Paleo anything.
Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..
It's a small molecule, and therefore not hard to make via random processes (mix elements together and irradiate, for example).
Ethanol is manufactured commercially, within Earth's biosphere by fermentation, but there are lots of other ways to form it. Partially oxidize hydrocarbons, combine ethylene (ethene) with water, reduce carbon dioxide or monoxide with hydrogen -- and those are just three off the top of my head that start with molecules common in space.
Step 1: Send a probe to the comet.
Step 2: Collect alcohol & bring it back to Earth.
Step 3: Bottle the alcohol.
Step 4: Sell it to rich folks who like getting drunk.
Step 5: Profit (for NASA).
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
To me, this is all the necessary evidence of a secret Russian space program. I'd just like to know why they select such clumsy astronauts...