Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
D2O and HDS in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
K Altwegg1,2, H Balsiger3, J J Berthelier4
1Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland kathrin.altwegg@space.unibe.ch.
Abstract:
The European Rosetta mission has been following comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for 2 years, studying the nucleus and coma in great detail. For most of these 2 years the Rosetta Orbiter Sensor for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) has analysed the volatile part of the coma. With its high mass resolution and sensitivity it was able to not only detect deuterated water HDO, but also doubly deuterated water, D2O and deuterated hydrogen sulfide HDS. The ratios for [HDO]/[H2O], [D2O]/[HDO] and [HDS]/[H2S] derived from our measurements are (1.05 ± 0.14) × 10-3, (1.80 ± 0.9) × 10-2 and (1.2 ± 0.3) × 10-3, respectively. These results yield a very high ratio of 17 for [D2O]/[HDO] relative to [HDO]/[H2O]. Statistically one would expect just 1/4. Such a high value can be explained by cometary water coming unprocessed from the presolar cloud, where water is formed on grains, leading to high deuterium fractionation. The high [HDS]/[H2S] ratio is compatible with upper limits determined in low-mass star-forming regions and also points to a direct correlation of cometary H2S with presolar grain surface chemistry.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
More Related Videos
08:36An Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Setup to Investigate the Reactive Species Formation
Published on: November 3, 2016
11:38In situ FTIR Spectroscopy as a Tool for Investigation of Gas/Solid Interaction: Water-Enhanced CO2 Adsorption in UiO-66 Metal-Organic Framework
Published on: February 1, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
¹H NMR of Labile Protons: Deuterium (²H) Substitution
Gas Solubility
π Molecular Orbitals of 1,3-Butadiene
The simplest conjugated diene is 1,3-butadiene: a four-carbon system where each carbon is sp2-hybridized and has an unhybridized p orbital that contains an unpaired electron. According to molecular orbital theory, atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals such that the number...
IR Spectrum Peak Broadening: Hydrogen Bonding
However, the extent of hydrogen bonding influences the observed stretching frequency and band broadening. Intermolecular or intramolecular...
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Interference