Rosetta mission leads to new questions about solar system formation

[Reefa]

Scientists understand the broad strokes of solar system evolution, and how one like ours could come about. But to work out the details, we need to examine primordial material close-up — and it just so happens the ESA’s Rosetta probe is studying a comet right now. One of the prevailing theories is that magnetic fields helped to bringing together the beginnings of planets, moons, and comets, but the latest analysis of data from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko doesn’t support the magnetic field hypothesis. Interestingly, we might never have known this if the Rosetta/Philae mission had gone exactly to plan.

The magnetic field influence hypothesis goes as such: In the spinning disc of gas that eventually gave rise to our solar system, a lot of the dust contained magnetized iron. Therefore, it’s reasonable to suspect magnetic fields could have caused bits of dust and rock to clump together, which eventually became larger and had enough gravity to form a planet or some other object. It certainly makes sense logically, but the evidence from Rosetta is lacking.

The Rosetta mission consists of two main components. There’s the Rosetta probe, which was launched a decade ago en route to rendezvous with 67P as it approached the sun. Then, once it reached and entered orbit of the 2.5 mile-long object, Rosetta released a lander called Philae. This robot descended to the surface, and was supposed to deploy harpoons to anchor itself after it made contact. Those harpoons failed to fire, which made the landing quite unorthodox.

Instead of setting down at the intended location, Philae experienced two distinct touchdowns and a few smaller bounces. The last bounce was a grazing collision with a crater rim that sent it tumbling to its final resting place in a shadowy area of terrain near a cliff.

The lack of adequate sunlight has resulted in Philae shutting down prematurely, but the gravitational data from its trip across the comet’s surface is proving quite enlightening.

Philae started collecting data after the first landing, because as far as the probe was concerned, it was on the surface. The data from the Rosetta Lander Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor (ROMAP) showed that the magnetic properties of 67P did not vary with distance. In fact, Philae’s readings at all altitudes and locations on the surface were very similar to those seen by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium fluxgate magnetometer (RPC-MAG) aboard Rosetta itself.

What that says to scientists is that the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet is remarkably non-magnetic. That’s not what you’d expect if objects in the solar system formed with the help of magnetic fields. This is by no means the final word on whether magnetic fields had something to do with the formation of the solar system, but it will certainly lead researchers in new directions. This is just how science works. It’s always improving.

Understanding the mechanisms of planetary formation could help us predict where to search for alien life. It can also help answer questions about what will become of our own solar system in the future.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/203344-rosetta-mission-leads-to-new-questions-about-solar-system-formation

[freeforever03]

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[Dce3480]

@F3dupsk1Nup the reading is always fun :thumbsup: :read: :fun: