Meet the coolest comet ever!!
Scientists have found Lovejoy comet to be released large amounts of alcohol into space every second. The quantities released equals that quantity of alcohol found in around 500 bottles of wine!
Scientists at the Paris Observatory have found Lovejoy (also known as C/2014 Q2) to be producing a lot of ethyl alcohol, the same kind found in all hard beverages. This is the first time a discovery of this nature has been made.
Along with alcohol, the team of researchers also found glycolaldehyde (which is a simple sugar) among the 21 organic molecules from the comet Lovejoy, in gaseous form.
"We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity," confirmed researcher Nicolas Biver at Paris Observatory, France.
In January this year, Lovejoy was found releasing water into space at the speed of 20 tonnes per second. The scientists had found Lovejoy's appearance to be the brightest at the time, and activity the most dynamic.
Scientists are constantly studying the composition of comets due to their "pristine" nature, and because they could give a valuable peak into the evolution of our solar system.
Comets usually fly past in frigid zones at a distance from the Sun. However, whenever a comet gets too close due to gravitational disturbance, its temperature rises, as a result of which gases are released. This in turn helps scientists to study a comet's composition.
(With inputs from PTI)
