Comet Catalina suggests comets delivered carbon to rocky planets
This illustration of a comet from the Oort Cloud as it passes through the inner solar system with dust and gas evaporating into its tail. SOFIA’s observations of Comet Catalina reveal that it’s carbon-rich, suggesting that comets delivered carbon to the terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars as they formed in the early solar system.
School of Physics and Astronomy Professor Chick Woodward was the lead researcher on a study that gives new insight on the source of carbon on planets like Earth and Mars during the early formation of the solar system.