The Comets And Their Origin

This 1953 book sets out some observational facts about comets and then accounts for their origin and explains how comet tails are formed.

Since several decades, comets have been considered as key witnesses of solar system formation. Their nature has been explored using the modern arsenal of Earth- and space-based observations, and they hold a central place as dynamical arbiters of the planetary system in the new paradigm of solar system evolution known as the Nice Model. Thus, they have the potential to test the various ideas, using the detailed data recently gathered by the ESA/Rosetta mission. This requires an understanding of their origin and evolution, which form the subject of the present book. All the relevant issues are covered, describing both the background and the current frontiers of research. Contents: IntroductionPhysical and Chemical PropertiesComet DynamicsPhysical Evolution in Observable CometsCapture of CometsFormation of Comet ReservoirsOrigin of Comet NucleiOutlooks Readership: University students and researchers interested in astrophysics. Keywords: Comets;Nice Model;Rosetta Mission;Comet DynamicsReview: Key Features: Currently this is the only book that discusses the Nice ModelThis book presents a comprehensive assessment of the recent progress in the whole, broad field of researchIt offers the first picture of comet origin and evolution that appears after the amazing results of Rosetta have been digested

Divided into two parts, the first four chapters of Comets and their Origin refer to comets and their formation in general, describing cometary missions, comet remote observations, astrochemistry, artificial comets, and the chirality phenomenon. The second part covers the cometary ROSETTA mission, its launch, journey, scientific objectives, and instrumentations, as well as the landing scenario on a cometary nucleus. Along the way, the author presents general questions concerning the origin of terrestrial water and the molecular beginnings of life on Earth, as well as how the instruments used on a space mission like ROSETTA can help answer them. The text concludes with a chapter on what scientists expect from the ROSETTA mission and how its data will influence our life on Earth. As a result, the author elucidates highly topical and fascinating knowledge to scientists and students of various scientific backgrounds, allowing them to work with ROSETTA's data.

This volume considers the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life. This is the only book dealing in depth with this subject. It is particularly relevant in light of recent investigations of Halley's comet, of new insights into organic synthesis in meteorites and comets, and of new results of numerical simulations of cometary orbits and impacts on Earth. The book is intended as a comprehensive review of current research.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Divided into two parts, the first four chapters of Comets and their Origin refer to comets and their formation in general, describing cometary missions, comet remote observations, astrochemistry, artificial comets, and the chirality phenomenon. The second part covers the cometary ROSETTA mission, its launch, journey, scientific objectives, and instrumentations, as well as the landing scenario on a cometary nucleus. Along the way, the author presents general questions concerning the origin of terrestrial water and the molecular beginnings of life on Earth, as well as how the instruments used on a space mission like ROSETTA can help answer them. The text concludes with a chapter on what scientists expect from the ROSETTA mission and how its data will influence our life on Earth. As a result, the author elucidates highly topical and fascinating knowledge to scientists and students of various scientific backgrounds, allowing them to work with ROSETTA's data.