Comet Landing 2014: Rosetta Probe Philae Discovers Organic Molecules: Report

[grahamhgreen]

http://www.ibtimes.com/comet-landing-2014-rosetta-probe-philae-discovers-organic-molecules-report-1725228

The Philae space probe was powered down earlier than expected, but not before an instrument discovered an organic compound that was first detected in the comet’s atmosphere, the Wall Street Journal exclusively reported Monday. The find is extraordinary considering the organic compound contains the carbon atom, which is the basis of life on planet Earth.

Further research is being conducted to see if there are complex compounds like amino acids or simple ones like methane and methanol, considered “building blocks” for proteins.

The research “will help us to understand whether organic molecules were brought by comets to the early earth,” Stephan Ulamec, the Philae’s landing manager said, according to the Journal.

Cool!

[Little Star]

1. I chuckled at this part of the article....

Philae’s landing was not only historical, but also a hit on social media. Philae’s monumental landing arguably overshadowed reality star Kim Kardashian’s nude photos from Paper magazine, even though the starlet intended to “break the internet.” Data showed more people talked about Philae’s landing by nearly 170,000 tweets

Philae is very popular all over the world me thinks. I know I just love Philae's story & I want more!

[johnnyreb]

2. Thank you Philae!!

Get some rest so you can maybe tell us more soon!