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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
The composition of cometary ices
1LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France dominique.bockelee@obspm.fr.
Abstract:
The chemical composition of cometary ices provides clues for the conditions of formation and evolution of the early Solar System. A large number of molecules have been identified in cometary atmospheres, from both ground-based observations and space, including in situ investigations. This includes large organic molecules, which are also observed in star-forming regions. This paper presents a review of molecular abundances measured in cometary atmospheres from remote sensing observations with ground-based and space-based telescopes. The diversity of composition observed in comet populations is presented and discussed.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
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